Florida cougar: description of the species, the struggle for survival and human help to cats

Puma is a representative of the cat family, one of the most cunning and cautious predators. Its first descriptions appeared immediately after the discovery of America. The Americans were struck by the dexterity, ferocity, deceit of this cat, and at the same time, its beauty and grace forced to admire. The range extended over 13 thousand kilometers, from tropical forests to semi-deserts.

Before the New World among the Indians, it was considered a sacred animal.

After the conquest of America, an active hunt for royal cougars began, as the locals called them. First for fun, then skins and even meat. The extermination was massive and after a while it became almost impossible to find an animal in the vicinity.. In the last century, several thousand of them remained, the species were on the verge of extinction. They began to create reserves, forbade hunting for them. Currently, there are about 30 species. Although, puma is not on the verge of extinction right nowsome species remain very rare.

Florida – a rare species of the cougar genus

One endangered species is the Florida puma. In 1979, somewhere around 20 individuals remained. They died out due to:

• will increase;
• deforestation of tropical forests;
• sport hunting;
• human oppression of the habitat.

As a result, the ability to reproduce offspring has decreased. The poverty of the genetic material led to the fact that cubs began to be born with deformities, increased susceptibility to disease. As a result of the settlement of spaces, the Florida cougar was driven into the southern forests of Florida, where it still lives in the territories of the reserve. There are about 160 individuals here. In the Red Book, the Florida cougar is listed as an endangered species.

The main reason for their extinction is the loss of their range. The reason is that the forests of Florida are disappearing several times faster than, say, the tropical forests of South America. And this means that there is little chance for the Florida species of cougars to expand its population. Therefore, a person comes to the rescue, creating reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, where cougars are strictly controlled, radios are hung up to track movements. Now scientists are working on the possibility of persistent crossing of the Florida cougar with other subspecies. It is planned to resettle in other states, although this task is quite difficult.

Description of the Florida Cougar

The Florida cougar among its representatives has the following features:

• flexible, elastic body;
• high paws;
• thick, coarse fur of a dark red color;
• the tail is long, curved at the tip as a result of closely related crossing within the species;
• the head is small, with a “Roman” profile.

The weight of an adult individual reaches up to 27–50 kg. She deftly climbs trees and mountain slopes. Jumps to a height of up to 2.5 m, and in length up to 6 m. In addition, feels good on rough terrain. Thanks to strong muscular paws, it can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h, although for short distances.

The cougar is a very quiet, solitary animal. She tries to avoid not only other types of close births, but also her own species. Only during the mating period does the cougar let another individual approach him. The male independently finds the female during the period of estrus on her territory and within one week they form a pair, hunting together. After the mating period, the male leaves the female’s habitat and does not return here anymore. A family is created only between a female and her cubs.

Pregnancy lasts about 3 months, from one litter there are 2-3 cubs. Like all cats, they are born blind, but strong enough to quickly gain experience. When the kittens are one month old, they can already leave their lair on their own.but under the strict control of the mother. Cougars’ milk is several times fatter than cow’s, which makes it possible for cubs to rapidly gain weight. The female feeds with milk up to 3 months of age. After the first year of life, the young individual leaves its litter and begins an independent life, choosing its own territory.

The struggle for existence in natural conditions

The area required is extensive, which becomes difficult in the conditions of deforestation. There are conflicts between individuals, especially males, where the death of one of them often occurs. Florida cats, being driven into the swamps of the southern swamps, forced to fight for territory with crocodiles. This does not appear to their eastern counterparts. There are cases when a cat emerged victorious in this fight, up to the death of an alligator. Pumas also compete with wolves, their ancient enemies. Wolves steal food from them, attack young lone cougars, often killing them.

The condition for survival is also the presence of a sufficient amount of game per square meter of habitat. To maintain life, an adult needs to catch a large animal twice a week, and even more if there are kittens. Although before 80% of attacks are successful, due to the agility and quick reaction of the cat, the lack of necessary food can lead to starvation.

The hungry puma, whose prey is often deer, does not disdain other small animals: raccoons, rabbits, squirrels and other rodents. There are cases when a cat’s territory is adjacent to human populations, the cougar attacks livestock and poultry. And it kills more than it can consume. She carefully disguises the carcasses of dead animals and eats from her pantry for a long time.

There are collisions with humans. Although cougars try to avoid settlements, there are still known cases of attacks on humans and even deaths. Most often they were children or people of short stature. The reason for these attacks is banal – a person occupies the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe cougar, displacing it, in order to survive it must adapt. But even being such a dangerous neighbor, efforts must be made to maintain this species.. Indeed, by creating wild expanses of habitat, the cougar can peacefully exist with a person.