Cougar: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the cougar lives – recorded in 10 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Puma concolor
Group	Big cats
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	10 countries
Continents	North America, South America
Diet (main food)	raccoon, capybara, bobcat, Didelphis virginiana, vicuña, guanaco, Cervus canadensis, Myocastor coypus, bighorn sheep, Rhea, Patagonian mara, donkey, carrion, Odocoileus virginianus, South American tapir, Tamias, Humboldt Penguin, sloth, American badger, Oreamnos americanus, mallard, Canada Goose, Lepus europaeus, Wild Turkey, goat, mule deer, moose, viscacha, sea otter, Eurasian Red Squirrel, coyote, beaver, Marsh deer, South American gray fox, nine-banded armadillo, horse, collared peccary, Red-rumped agouti, New World porcupine, cattle, Mephitidae, house mouse, Pudú, rabbit
Class	Mammal
Order	Carnivora
Family	Felidae

Where does the cougar live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the cougar in 10 countries and territories across North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, Canada, Belize, Chile, United States, French Guiana, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Suriname, Paraguay, Guyana.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What does a cougar eat?

Wikidata lists the main food source of the cougar as: raccoon, capybara, bobcat, Didelphis virginiana, vicuña, guanaco, Cervus canadensis, Myocastor coypus, bighorn sheep, Rhea, Patagonian mara, donkey, carrion, Odocoileus virginianus, South American tapir, Tamias, Humboldt Penguin, sloth, American badger, Oreamnos americanus, mallard, Canada Goose, Lepus europaeus, Wild Turkey, goat, mule deer, moose, viscacha, sea otter, Eurasian Red Squirrel, coyote, beaver, Marsh deer, South American gray fox, nine-banded armadillo, horse, collared peccary, Red-rumped agouti, New World porcupine, cattle, Mephitidae, house mouse, Pudú, rabbit.

Is the cougar endangered?

The cougar’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the cougar?

The cougar (Puma concolor) is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Felidae, genus Puma. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the cougar

The cougar ( KOO-gər; Puma concolor), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount, and panther, is a large feline native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spans Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, the Rocky Mountains and areas in the western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to the Amazon rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. It is an adaptable generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Cougar (revision 1380660743), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q35255 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).