The Cougar 155 



its attacks by stealth, and if possible from 

 behind, and relies on two or three tremen- 

 dous springs to bring it on the doomed crea- 

 ture's back. It uses its claws as well as its 

 teeth in holding and killing the prey. If 

 possible it always seizes a large animal by the 

 throat, whereas the wolfs point of attack is 

 more often the haunch or flank. Small deer 

 or sheep it will often knock over and kill, 

 merely using its big paws; sometimes it 

 breaks their necks. It has a small head com- 

 pared to the jaguar, and its bite is much less 

 dangerous. Hence, as compared to its larger 

 and bolder relative, it places more trust in 

 its claws and less in its teeth. 



Though the cougar prefers woodland, it is 

 not necessarily a beast of the dense forests 

 only; for it is found in all the plains country, 

 living in the scanty^ timber belts which fringe 

 the streams, or among the patches of brush in 

 the Bad Lands. The persecution of hunters, 

 however, always tends to drive it into the most 

 thickly wooded and broken fastnesses of the 

 mountains. The she has from one to three 

 kittens, brought forth in a cave or a secluded 

 lair, under a dead log or in very thick brush. 

 It is said that the old hes kill the small male 

 kittens when they get a chance. They cer- 



