THE PUMA 47 



frequently do. I have heard Pumas scream precisely like 

 terrified women or boys, but they always flee from man 

 when the way is open. 



The Puma is a thin-bodied, flat-sided animal, tall for its 

 weight, and of a brownish-drab color. It has a beautiful face, 

 and is a handsome creature. Of all the large cats of the 

 world, it is by far the best climber. It reaches its maxi- 

 mum development in Colorado, and also its finest (tawny) 

 color. The fine male specimen killed by Colonel Theodore 

 Roosevelt on February 14, 1901, near Meeker, Colorado, 

 measured, before skinning, exactly 8 feet in total length, and 

 weighed 227 pounds. I regard that animal as fairly rep- 

 resenting the maximum size attained by the largest species 

 of Puma. 



Our Pumas make their dens among rocks, in "washout" 

 holes, or in very thick brush or forests, and prey upon every 

 living creature that can be killed and eaten, except man. 

 In settled regions they frequently destroy much young stock. 

 Throughout the Rocky Mountains, they are dangerous ene- 

 mies of the mountain sheep and mule deer. In the "bad 

 lands" of Montana I once saw a mule deer killed which had 

 on its neck a twelve-inch scar, a torn ear, and the beam of 

 one antler broken off half-way up. Apparently these injuries 

 were received in an encounter with a Puma, and a fall over 

 a cut bank, which evidently released the deer from its sav- 

 age assailant. 



The young of the Puma vary in number from two to 

 five, and are spotted. Living specimens vary in value from 

 $30 to $75, according to age and size. 



