68 BULLETIN NO VII 



The courage is not great and, unless impelled by hunger or 

 despair, it never attacks dogs or horses much less man. 

 During severe winters the puma may be driven to eat the por- 

 cupine and there are well authenticated instances where the 

 animal has fallen a victim to his temerity. The prey seems 

 not to be carried to the den which is in contrast with the habit 

 of other beasts. It is said to kill its prey instantly by drawing 

 back the head with the paw until the neck is broken . The 

 ordinary cry of the puma is a sort of ''mew" on a larger scale 

 and more prolonged than that of the domestic cat. The male 

 growls when disturbed and, especially in the pairing season, 

 gives vent to wild and unearthly cries which have wrought 

 upon the superstitions of the frontiersman. 



It is stated that the puma or "painter," utters wailing human 

 cries in order to lure the belated traveler to destruction. All 

 such stories can easily be understood if one will take the pains 

 to conceive of the result if the caterwauling of a domestic cat 

 were magnified four or five times in power and singularity. 



The female makes an affectionate mother. The young are 

 carried 96 97 days and are suckled until half grown. 



The young are born in the spring in northern regions, but 

 farther south considerably later. Audubon found half-grown 

 pumas in Texas in February, 



Pumas do not hunt in packs as do the various species of the 

 dog family, but until the kittens are grown they sometimes 

 hunt in pairs. 



No opportunity has been afforded for gathering anatomical 

 details and the reader is referred to Audubon for additional 

 information as to the habits of this species. 



The most recent occurrence of the puma in Minnesota was 

 in 1875 when a single individual was killed in Sunrise, Chisago 

 Co. The following extracts contain all notices of this animal 

 which I have been able to gather 'from the earlier writings: 



In "Carver's Travels" p. 413, is the following account of 

 the puma which seems by the context to be credited to the 

 "Chipeway River." "The TYGER. The tyger of America 

 resembles those of Africa and Asia, but is considerably smaller. 

 Nor does it appear to be so fierce and ravenous as they are. 

 The color of it is a darkish sallow, and it is entirely free from 

 spots." "It is very seldom met with in this part of the world. " 



Mr. Merriam ' gives the following statement concerning the 

 panther : 



1 The mammals of the Adirondack regions of Northeastern New York. C. Hart Merriam, 

 M. D. Also in the Transactions of the Linncean Society of New York, 1884, under the 

 same title. 



