Predation
Now let’s move to what I like best about cougars aside their remarkable beauty, which is their remarkable hunting prowess. Here, we’ll talk about the cougar’s prey animals.
You all know the prey animals that cougars kill, white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer and so on, but let’s make a list.
This is a list of the top 5 most dangerous prey items IN HEALTHY CONDITION that cougars have the power to kill in their natural habitat, ranked from strongest to weakest:
1) American bison (
Bison bison):
First answer:
www.quora.com/Can-an-adult-Cougar-kill-a-full-grown-American-Bison/answer/The-SuperCat?ch=10&oid=408389857&share=6d456863&srid=hJo9JQ&target_type=answer :
This answer was quite simplistic and I would say is the most amateurish of my 3 answers. Here, I just make reference to the summary of the 2 accounts, give a somewhat flawed reference for adult bison weight, make a wrong comparison between bobcats and cougars and between elands and bison. I admit that I got a number of things wrong here, but the “Tiger vs Gaur” thingy was actually right and was what kept me going.
Second answer:
www.quora.com/Are-there-any-cases-of-cougars-attacking-American-bison/answer/The-SuperCat?ch=10&oid=1477743663569532&share=54d90dc4&srid=hJo9JQ&target_type=answer :
Here, I make reference to the pages where the 2 accounts were ORIGINALLY written and I add one other account of an interaction between a female cougar and a female bison. I very thoroughly dissected the 3 accounts and debunked some common misconceptions. Even more, I brought in views from scientists on “Cougar vs Bison” and showed 3 different experts testifying to the possibility of cougars having the power to kill bison. At the end, I gave a brief explanation for why the known number of attacks by cougars on bison is very low.
Third answer:
www.quora.com/Can-a-mountain-lion-kill-an-adult-American-bison/answer/The-SuperCat?ch=10&oid=1477743666839665&share=d5b155ff&srid=hJo9JQ&target_type=answer :
The most legendary of the three answers, and the longest of them all. Here, I atone for the errors that I made in the first answer. I dissected a comment given to me on the second day of the year by Dino King. This is the most thorough answer on the “Cougar vs Bison” topic IN ALL OF EXISTENCE. Here, I thoroughly debunk widely accepted but wrong ideas and also talked about the reason for the comparison of cougars to other cats. The most important section is Section 12 where I VERY THOROUGHLY explained the reason why cougars don’t prey on American bison even though they coexist. For this reason, things like “why can’t you show me any case of cougars killing bison when they coexist” become completely stupid. I also debunked other common arguments in Section 13 like “Even grizzly bears don’t prey on bison” and “Even wolf packs don’t prey on healthy adult bison” and showed why they have ZERO effect on the cougar’s capabilities. I very heavily suggest that you go through this answer even if you ignore the other 2. Until you do, you CANNOT understand the reason why cougars can kill bison and the reason why they do not, you will FOREVER be asking stupid questions. Let me also add that in this answer I very well specified that I was ONLY talking about 80-100 kg cougars and 500-700 kg bison. I properly established that at the beginning of the answer, so nobody can ask any silly questions.
2) Moose (
Alces alces):
The moose is the largest species of deer in the world and the second largest terrestrial animal in North America after the bison. The males can weigh between 542 to 725 kg and the females between 364 and 591 kg:
web.archive.org/web/20091130022010/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/moose.php They posses powerful antlers and powerful legs capable of delivering deadly blows to predators like wolves and bears. On rare occasions, cougars can kill adults, even the bulls:
• A cougar killed 18 moose in less than a year:
billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/recreation/ferocious-appetites-study-finds-mountain-lions-may-be-eating-more-than-previously-believed/article_d9cf046b-2c47-539f-a267-972e72e570b6.html• According to this study, adult moose of over 400 kg were taken by male cougars, though very rarely, adult moose made and feral horses (biggest prey in the study area) made up less than 2% of cougar diet:
www.researchgate.net/publication/229939293_Cougar_Kill_Rate_and_Prey_Composition_in_a_Multiprey_System • In the state of Utah, adult moose are preyed on by mountain lions. 4 moose out of seven that were radio collared were killed by cougars:
www.scribd.com/document/60251228/Utah-Moose-Statewide-Management-Plan • A YOUNG FEMALE cougar killed an adult bull moose:
archive.org/details/wondrouswildlife0000ostr (Page where it reads 2 of 113 on the scroll)
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An old-time trapper told us of finding a LARGE BULL killed by a desperately hungry YOUNG FEMALE mountain lion that managed to leap unto the bull’s back from a rock ledge and bite through the vertebrate behind the head.”
That same page later goes on to say that in good health, cougars are AMAZING beasts and are COMPLETELY DESIGNED FOR SUCCESSFUL HUNTING, being able to kill prey five times their own size:
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In good health, the cougar, puma or mountain lion is an amazing beast completely designed for successful hunting, and can bring down animals FIVE TIMES ITS OWN WEIGHT.”
3) Wild boar (
Sus scrofa):
The wild boar is one of the most dangerous animals in existence, and proves to be very troublesome for predators. With their size and their powerful tusks, they are a formidable foe and only predators like tigers can kill them with little to no consideration for their own safety.
Cougars in some parts of their range like the Everglades in Florida do prey on feral hogs also called wild boar. They are said to be able to take a decent-sized sow or even boar when the opportunity presents itself:
feralhogs.extension.org/natural-predators-of-feral-hogs/ Mountain Lion or Cougar – The large cat is found to overlap the range of feral hogs in several western states and in Florida. In both general regions mountain lions HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED TO PREY ON INTRODUCED FERAL HOGS. The TARGET ANIMALS include BOTH SEXES and POTENTIALLY ANY AGE CLASS. Given the right situation, a mountain lion could catch and kill a FAIRLY LARGE SOW or BOAR. Although variable from area to area, feral hogs can CONSTITUTE A SIGNIFICANT VOLUME OF PREY in the diet of this large predator.”
Later on, that page goes on to say:
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Mountain lions are reported to be the ONLY PREDATOR THAT USES FERAL HOGS AS PREY ON A REGULAR BASIS; however, the percentage of hogs in a lion’s diet appears to be PREY DENSITY DEPENDENT IN ANY ONE GIVEN AREA.”
Then there’s also this:
archive.org/details/floridapanther00silv • Florida Panthers are said to prey on hogs with a very good amount of frequency:
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The Florida panther is a large carnivore that requires SUBSTANTIAL amounts of food. It OFTEN catches prey that is bigger than itself . White-tailed deer and WILD HOGS typically make up 75 percent of the panther’s diet.” (Page 13)
• Florida panthers love hogs so much that their survival can be threatened by hog scarcity:
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Hunters have also threatened the panther’s survival by killing deer and HOGS, reducing the amount of prey available to the native predators.” (Page 26)
• Florida panthers control the feral hog population so well that when the panther is absent, the feral hog population blossoms:
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Although panthers tend to be scarce in areas where wild hogs are plentiful, the reason may be that people hunt in these areas and disturb the habitat.” (Page 27)
So, we can see that cougars truly can kill adult boars. Sure, they still prefer piglets, but saying that piglets are ALL that they prey on is blatantly false because they prey on the species so much that they literally CONTROL THE POPULATION. They couldn’t possibly be controlling the population if EVERY LAST boar they killed was a piglet. Secondly, wild boar piglets are actually pretty small, so the amount of consumable biomass they can provide to a panther at any one given meal is veeeeery small. So small that the panther can’t properly refer to that as a meal.
Suggesting that the cougar would compensate for the small size by catching many per day shows a great lack of understanding of the puma. It’s not economical to be chasing multiple piglets in one day when you can simply take out an adult that can last you for days, it makes no sense even from a common sense point of view. Besides, running around multiple times in a day doesn’t seem realistic for an animal with tiny lungs and a tiny heart that has no stamina, does it? Or where does the cougar magically get the stamina to be running great distances many times in a day?
4) Wild horse (
Equus ferus):
The wild or feral horse is a large equine which freely roams in the wilderness. They are powerful beasts capable of holding their own against predators. For the most part, foals are taken, but adults are also taken occasionally:
• Cougars prey on feral horses and control the population. In fact, in several regions of Nevada, horses made up the majority of their diet. Cougars are however being killed for predating on domestic livestock which reduces the number of cougars available to kill horses:
www.nytimes.com/2018/05/12/sunday-review/let-mountain-lions-eat-horses.html • Cougar predation on horses is well documented. Foals when available are the main prey, but adults are also taken occasionally. Some cougars bear the scars of unsuccessful attempts on adults:
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0274.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjSqJ7BtMD_AhXNSsAKHVRyCnsQFnoECA8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw2U3ToYkyur7HlVgd5Sh-pj (Page 22 on the scroll)
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Lion predation on horses has been well documented through the years. Foals, young colts and fillies are the primary prey when available. Their long necks and deer-like size seem to make them very attractive and relatively easy prey for lions. Adult horses are occasionally taken by lions and some may show the scars of an unsuccessful attempt. However, lion predation on horses is not as common as it was years ago. The mechanization of ranching operations has decreased the need for horses instead of raising brood stock.”
• Cougars VERY REGULARLY take on horses in the Great Basin in Nevada and in actual fact prefer them to deer which are much less dangerous:
wildlife.org/jwm-cougars-prey-on-feral-horses-in-the-great-basin/“
We found that BOTH male and FEMALE [cougars] were taking horses, up to ADULT SIZE horses,” said Jon Beckmann, a wildlife supervisor at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.”
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Most of the time, cougars are kind of considered a specialist on mule deer,” Beckmann said.
But the cats in the Great Basin SHOWED A VASTLY DIFFERENT TYPE OF SPECIALIZATION. Only 29% of the 770 possible kill sites in the Great Basin were mule deer.
The MAJORITY of kill sites in the Great Basin—60%—were feral horses. Ten of the 13 cats they tracked in this area were PREDOMINANTLY taking down horses.”
• FEMALE cougars actually preyed on horses ALL YEAR LONG to the surprise of the researchers while the stronger males focused their predation during foaling season which is spring and early summer:
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Beckmann said the researchers were also surprised to find that both FEMALES and males were going after horses—the FORMER MORE THAN the LATTER, IN FACT.
Males tended to prey on horses more in foaling season in spring and early summer. By late summer and through the winter, the males had switched their preferred meals to mule deer. While males also preyed on foals, females, on the other hand, preyed on horses all year long. The researchers aren’t sure why—large prey can be dangerous.”
• Cougars are remarkably durable animals evidenced that they CONSISTENTLY try to take down 800 to 1000 lbs horses and get brutally punished:
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It’s a risky prey item. We’ve seen over the years some cougars that are pretty beat up—you can tell the horse eaters,” Beckmann said. “It’s a rough life trying to take down 800-1,000 pound animals CONSISTENTLY.”
5) Elk (
Cervus canadensis):
The elk or wapiti is the second largest deer in the world after the moose. The largest bulls in Alaska can weigh up to 591 kg:
web.archive.org/web/20070605111526/http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/pubs/notebook/biggame/elk.php They fight with their antlers and their hooves, weapons which can prove and have proved fatal for cougars, wolves and bears. Cougars are unquestionably the best predators at hunting elk.
• Cougars can kill bull elk 7 times their size:
books.google.com/books/about/The_Cougar.html?id=sSr8AAAAQBAJ (Page 12)
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Cougars can run up to 72 kilometres (45 miles) per hour for a short distance, and even a smaller 45-kilogram (100-pound) cougar is capable of taking down a 318-kilogram (700-pound) elk.”
• While bull elk are formidable animals, to say that cougars in general stay away from them is a very foolish statement, one that is thoroughly debunked by cougar researchers. Both male and FEMALE cougars kill bull elk with a good amount of frequency in Idaho. It should be noted that it’s a risky business, one in which cougars have died while embarking on. They have broken their backs while slammed against trees with tremendous force, been trampled on hooves, and even impaled on antlers and powerful branches. It really is no mean feat:
mountainlion.org/about-mountain-lions/ (Chapter 2)
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Even in the absence of humans, cougars practice a high-risk lifestyle; they are continuously exposed to injury or death because they prey on animals larger than they are. In Idaho, both male and FEMALE pumas kill MALE elk, an animal SEVEN TIMES THE SIZE OF A FEMALE PUMA. While deer, more manageable in size, are the cougar’s prey of choice, some do not submit without a struggle. During attacks on deer or elk cougars have been thrown against trees so hard that their backs have been broken or they sustained massive internal injuries. They have been trampled by the hooves of deer and elk they were attacking, and even impaled on branches or antlers. A debilitating injury like a broken bone can lead to starvation.”
• Cougars, both male and FEMALE kill bull elk. It was interesting that female cougars had a higher prey size to cat size ratio than females of ALL other large cats. Their prey size to cat size ratio was 2.4:1, almost twice as much as that of snow leopards that had 1.4:1. It was definitely much higher than those of lionesses and leopardesses which had a 1:1 prey size ratio. It’s really amazing that cougars actually scored higher than the true big cats, something else that nullifies the myth that the big cats are pound for pound much stronger:
archive.org/details/greatcats0000unse (Page 134)
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What I found absolutely astounding is that pumas, both males and FEMALES, killed ADULT MALE elk. A bull elk is SEVEN TIMES THE SIZE OF A FEMALE PUMA. In a study comparing the ratio of prey size amongst the cats (using modal [most frequently taken] prey weight divided by adult female cat weight) the puma, with a ratio 2.4 to 1, was far above all the other cats: the ratio of prey size of the puma is twice that of the snow leopard (1.4 to 1); and modal prey size for a female leopard and lion is about one to one.”
