Rare fatal mountain lion attack El Dorado County 23rd March 2024

Fierce cougar

Fatal mountain lion (puma) attacks on people – often hikers in the beautiful American countryside – are very rare. But sometimes the cat is totally committed to the attack and cannot be scared off using the usual well-known techniques. This story is one such case. The sad story of a recent fatal mountain lion …

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In which US states is it illegal to hunt cougars?

Female cougar and her cubs against a wild mountainous backdrop

In the United States, the legality of hunting cougars varies by state. It is illegal to hunt cougars for sport in California, which is the only western state with a large cougar population that prohibits such hunting. In other states, there may be regulated hunting seasons and specific rules governing the hunting of cougars. …

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Young pumas have spots for camouflage protection which entirely disappear in adolescence

Puma cub has spots for camouflage protection

It makes good sense that puma cubs have spots for camouflage protection as they are incredibly vulnerable. The spots disappear with age. This is an example of age-related differences in coat colour and patterning among the cat species. This change implies that nature has decided that the adult puma does not need camouflage protection …

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Mountain lions fear humans which limits their use of space particularly for males

The mountain lion is scared of people and it affects their lives negatively

A report on a study on the Science Daily website tells us something that perhaps we should know and probably do know namely that mountain lions fear humans. They are not the only wild animal fearing humans. All the wild animals on the African continent which are not socialised to humans fear them. It’s …

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Mountain lions try to avoid artificially lit areas, possibly to avoid interactions with humans

Puma at night

In Southern California, mountain lions avoid areas which are lit artificially. It is believed that they do this to avoid people. Clearly, mountain lion regards humans as dangerous. This brings to mind, by the way, the common leopard which in some areas has become entirely nocturnal to avoid people. A recent study found that …

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Can you own a large wild cat in South Carolina?

pet pumas

No, you cannot own a large wild cat in South Carolina. What do they mean by a ‘large wild cat’? They mean these cat species: lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars, cheetahs, snow leopards, and clouded leopards. The N. Carolina law (see the Federal Big Cat Public Safety Act further down which overlaps with this …

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Albinism in cats infographic

albino cat eye color

This is an infographic which summarises albinism in cats. Rarely you will see albino wild and domestic cats. You will see quite a lot of people confusing cats that are completely white with blue eyes or odd-eye colour caused by the dominant white gene and albino cats with light-blue to pink eyes. The eyes are a good way to tell the difference. There are more articles with a reference to albinism below the infographic

3-way cat hybrid: Maine Coon, American Curl and Siamese

3-way hybrid: Maine Coon, American Curl and Siamese

People are interested in domestic cat hybrids because they look different. This cat is basically a Maine Coon with curled back ears and some vague pointing on the coat. But when you look at the cat, he/she looks like a strange Maine Coon. The dominant feature is the huge Maine Coon muzzle and then …

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