There is a simple reason why mountain lions are called painters. ‘Painter’ is a local American name for the puma (Felis concolor). Many early white settlers to America referred to the puma as the American panther. The word ‘panther‘ was corrupted to ‘painter’. In many rural districts of the mid-western and eastern US this became the usual pronunciation.

The name ‘painter’ for the puma was made famous in 1913 when James Whitcomb Riley wrote: ‘Yes – and painters, prowlin’ ’bout,/ Allus darkest nights. Lay out/ Clost yer cattle. – Great, big red/ Eyes a blazing’ in their head…’

The mountain lion has the most names of all the wild cat species.

How many miles do mountain lions travel?

How many miles do mountain lions travel in a day? Unfortunately there isn't much information on this topic but nonetheless ...
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Is a mountain lion bigger than a wolf?

Yes, the mountain lion aka puma and cougar is slightly bigger than the wolf on average but it is hard ...
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Video of female puma with cubs defending her family against a jogger

This is a nice video of a female puma with cubs defending her family against what she considered to be ...
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Injuries incurred when pumas attack prey can ultimately kill them

In one study, 27% of natural mortality of the puma was related to injuries sustained while trying to capture prey ...
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What is a catamount animal?

The word "catamount" is an abbreviation of "cat of the mountain" or "cat o' mountain" or even "cat a mountain" ...
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Tesla autopilot detects mountain lion running across road (video)

Townsend, Montana, USA: This short video neatly sums up a lot about the relationship between America's mountain lion (puma, cougar) ...
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Can pumas be white?

In 2020, there is no evidence that pumas can be white but this may change in the future ...
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Source: Cat World by Dr Desmond Morris.