THE PACIFIC COAST COUGAR. 



J. M. BALTIMORE. 



One of the largest, fiercest and most 

 powerful members of the carnivorous fam- 

 ily on the Pacific slope, is the cougar 

 (Felis concolor). Indeed, were it not for 

 the dreaded grizzly, that " shuffling, sham- 

 bling plantigrade," as Bret Harte calls 

 him, the cougar would literally be " King 

 of the forests," so far as that vast region 

 is concerned which lies West of the Rocky 

 mountains, East of the Pacific ocean, 

 North of Mexico and South of the British 

 possessions. The cougar is found in near- 

 ly every part of that domain, but its prin- 

 cipal habitat is in the mountain ranges 

 and the deep forests. As a rule, he care- 

 fully avoids settlements. Man is his most 

 persistent enemy; and the cougar makes 

 its home and its lair as remote as possible 

 from human habitations. 



The cougar differs, in some respects, 

 from the common panther of the East and 

 the middle West — the principal points of 

 dissimilarity being in size and color. The 

 cougar, or " Californian Lion," as he is 

 more generally called, is of a tawny color 

 along the back and sides, and the outer 

 parts of the limbs; the neck, breast, belly 

 and inside parts of the legs are much lighter 

 than other portions of his body, being al- 

 most white, with a slight suggestion of 

 yellow. 



The cougar is larger than the panther, 

 the jaguar, the puma, or the leopard, 

 though in weight, height and length, he is 

 inferior to the average India tiger. The 

 weight of the cougar ranges from 120 to 

 180 pounds. The average male is larger 

 than the female. In length the animal 

 varies from 5 to 9 feet — that is, from the 

 point of the nose to the tip of the tail. The 

 tail is like that of the other members of 

 the feline family, except the lion, the hair 

 being thick and of uniform length. The 

 cougar is nothing more nor less than an 

 enormous cat, the resemblance being ex- 

 act with the exception that the former is 

 more gaunt about the sides and flanks. 

 Its claws and teeth are long, sharp as 

 needles, and very strong. In this respect, 

 the cougar is but little inferior to the lion 

 or the tiger. 



By nature and instinct, the cougar is 

 cowardly. Men and dogs are objects of 

 its special fear — even terror. It is a sly, 

 skulking, stealthy creature and has the per- 

 fect action of a cat. Like the cat, the 

 cougar is patient when in quest of its prey, 

 and will wait for hours for the game to 

 come along. Very rarely indeed has the 

 cougar been known to attack any animal, 

 however defenceless, in an open, courage- 



ous manner. It usually crouches on a limb 

 that overhangs a trail, or on some jutting 

 rock or bank, and waits for its victim to 

 come along. When the game unsuspect- 

 ingly approaches within springing range, 

 quick as a flash, the fierce creature leaps 

 down, seizes its victim by the throat with 

 its teeth, and tears it to pieces with its 

 powerful knife-like claws. The cougar 

 seems to know, by instinct, where the vital 

 parts of its victim are located, and in a 

 few moments destroys its life. With one 

 savage clutch of its teeth the cougar fre- 

 quently severs the jugular vein of a deer, 

 colt, calf, sheep, or hog. 



Blood is more palatable than flesh to the 

 cougar, and after dispatching his prey he 

 eagerly sucks its hot life fluid. If the quan- 

 tity of blood is not sufficient to satisfy its 

 hunger the cougar then proceeds to lunch 

 on the warm, quivering flesh. 



The cougar well knows that " discretion 

 is the better part of valor," even in the pur- 

 suit of prey, for he never attacks any ani- 

 mal that is likely to prove too strong for 

 him. Full grown and vigorous horses, 

 cattle or elk are seldom or never attacked. 

 A weak or disabled adult animal, of either 

 species, is often singled out as a victim. 



In the Cascade mountains of Oregon 

 and Washington, and the Coast range in 

 Oregon, these fierce and predatory ani- 

 mals have their principal habitat. They 

 are also found in large numbers in the 

 Blue mountains of Eastern Oregon and 

 Washington. The cougar seldom ventures 

 far down into the valleys, or remains in 

 thickly settled regions. He can travel with 

 great rapidity, and can easily cover from 

 25 to 30 miles in one night. During the 

 day he sleeps, and only ventures forth at 

 night — unless greatly pressed by hunger. 

 Under such circumstances, cougars have 

 been known to attack animals in broad 

 daylight, and to kill them, even in the 

 sight of persons. But, instinctively, they 

 are cowardly skulkers, and, like an Indian, 

 never attack unless they have the decided 

 advantage. 



Amidst deep and gloomy forests, far 

 back in the rugged mountain fastnesses, 

 in the heart of canyons, rocky gorges, and 

 impenetrable thickets of underbrush, is 

 where the cougar loves to make his native 

 lair when "off duty." He is somewhat 

 like the boa constrictor and the anaconda. 

 He loves to gorge himself with flesh and 

 blood, and then to creep away and sleep 

 through the process of digestion. During 

 such a period, the animal is inclined to be 

 rather sluggish, and is decidedly non- 



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