68 THE TRAPPER'S ART. 



THE COUGAA or AMERICAN PANTHER. 



This animal is one of the largest of the cat family that 

 exists on the Western Continent, being rivaled only by the 

 jaguar. It inhabits every latitude from Canada to Patagonia. 

 In different localities it receives different names and varies 

 somewhat in size. In the United States, east of the Rocky 

 Mountains, it is commonly called the Panther, and sometimes 

 the Catamount ; on the west coast it is called the CaHfornia 

 Lion ; in South America its common name is Puma. Couiiar, 

 however, is the scientific and proper name. The true Pan- 

 ther is confined to the Eastern Continent ; and is a variety of 

 the leopard, being found mostly in Asia. In the north, 

 Cougars prefer for their retreat ledges of rock inaccessible to 

 man, called by hunters panther ledges. They appear rarely 

 by daylight, except when pressed for food, but conceal them- 

 selves behind rocks and fallen trees till evenino;. In South 

 America their favorite haunts are the vast grassy plains, 

 where they destroy great numbers of wild cattle. 



Full grown Panthers killed in northern New York have 

 been known to measure over eleven feet from the nose to the 

 tip of the tail, being about twenty-eight inches high, and 

 weighing nearly two hundred pounds. Their color is a red- 

 dish-brown above, shading into a lighter color underneath. 

 They are armed with sharp teeth and long, heavy claws. 

 They feed chiefly on deer, crawling stealthily to within 

 springing distance, or watching on some cliff or tree, and 

 pouncing like a cat on their prey. Their activity enables 

 them to take the deer with ease. It is asserted by hunters 

 that each Panther destroys as many as tw^o deer per week, 

 and a pair of Panthers have been known to attack and kill a 

 full-grown moose. In newly settled countries, they fre- 

 quently carry off young cattle and sheep. They are good 

 climbers and readily take to a tree when pursued by dogs, 

 from which they can easily be brought down by the rifle. 

 This is the most common way of taking them. They are 

 cowardly, and rarely attack a man unless wounded, when 

 they are dangerous. 



