I think
s and
wermthewerm will like this (since they're into this matchup, as seen on the Carnivora forum where they discussed it with Taipan)
I know this is a ''70 kg male cougar vs. Rocky Mountains Elk'' matchup, but I'll just like to use this opportunity to talk about ''Cougar vs. Cervids'' in general (elk included of course).
Yes, the cougar is a very good killer of deer, elk, cervids in general. Suppose we are talking about how this would happen in nature, like how this interaction would take place in the wild (that is, an ambush scenario, as it is out of character for a cougar to attack an elk or any other ungulate face-to-face), then 70 kg may not even be necessary. Even smaller female cougars that typically average around 45 kg (100 pounds) have proven themselves capable of being able to take down adult bull elk about 7 times their mass - 315 kg bull elk, similar in size to the one being used here.
Various sources confirm the puma's ability to take down elk many, many times its size:
Taken From:
The Cougar: Beautiful, Wild and Dangerous (Page 12)
Taken From:
Great cats (Page 134)
- Cougars are stated to be able to kill elk ''without difficulty'' and a study carried out by Schwartz showed that they have the greatest influence on elk in the Olympic Mountains area, even being superior to wolf packs. The most impressive predation feat that I am aware of a cougar pulling, especially a cougar under 100 pounds, we have a 76-pound cougar killing an elk IN HEALTHY CONDITION that was almost 9 times its own weight:
Taken From:
The puma, mysterious American cat. Part I: History, life habits, economic status, and control (Page 133)
Very crazy feat. I couldn't believe it when I saw it, a 34.5 kg cougar killed a roughly 311 kg elk that was in good health condition. Not the norm by any means, but just shows how much cougars are endowed to take down large cervids many times their size. It would appear that it was a bull elk, judging by the size (about 311 kg), but since the gender is unspecified, it could also have been a female. Remarkable predation feat, nonetheless.
That being said, extensive research conducted by leading cougar expert, Maurice Hornocker, in the Idaho Primitive Area shows that cougars do avoid healthy, mature bull elk that can fight back. In fact, his research describes them as being ''relatively immune to attack.'' Out of all the elk killed during the study period, only FIVE (a very small amount) were aged 2.5 years and more.
And even out of those 5 (an already small number), two bulls were 2.5 years on the dot, and could not be considered ''prime specimens.'' So, we see a clear avoidance of mature bull elk for the greater part. In fact, it is mostly male cougars that tackle bull elk, due to their greater forelimb strength than females.
It has been suggested that the antlers of bull elk may be a major deterrent to cougar attacks, because some cows grow to be as big as younger prime bulls, yet cows of all age classes and sizes are taken without discrimination. So, other than being bigger than cows, bull elk's antlers may be a major reason why cougars attack them much less frequently, as cougars have to wrestle with the head, which puts them in close proximity to the antlers of bulls:
Taken From:
Analysis of mountain lion predation upon mule deer and elk in the Idaho Primitive area (Pages 87-88)
And despite being a carnivore that specialises in taking deer and elk, these animals sometimes prove tough for a cougar. They should not be seen as certain victims:
Taken From:
Cougar! (Page 71)
Here's another account in which a cougar and a deer died after going over a precipice, as witnessed by the naturalist Enos Mills:
Taken From:
Watched by wild animals (Page 195)
So, as for the battle itself, here's what I would say -
A cougar of this size can do it in an ambush, but would still have a hard time, as the elk's antlers would pose a great challenge, and its hooves can deal deadly damage. In a face-to-face fight, the elk kind of slams like 99% of the time (in reality, the cougar isn't doing this face-to-face).
This 70 kg cougar, I believe, should be able to kill a cow elk, face-to-face or in an ambush. Even female cougars regularly kill cow elk.
But, if something goes wrong, if the cougar makes a wrong move, the possibility of a cow elk winning actually sort of exists (even in an ambush), it may just have to be a big/very mean cow elk.
This is a compilation of cougar fatalities while attempting to hunt mule deer, blacktail deer, and elk. There's an account of a cow elk that killed a cougar after it had killed her calf. The cougar was said to have been ''destroyed'':
ACCIDENTAL FATALITIES OF THE UTAH COUGAR (Pages 123-126)
