Return of the Puma

[IanRRobinson]

BBC News - Cougars make a comeback after a century of decline

Incidentally, what do other posters (especially North Americans ) feel is the best name for this animal? At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, I've spent forty-plus years calling Puma concolor simply "Puma" and using Cougar or, worse, Mountain Lion really doesn't feel right.

 

[Maguari]

I've always used 'Puma'. Others just don't feel right, as you say, but can't really expalin why.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I always use "Puma" myself.

It's great to hear they are making a comeback - I just wish they'd make a similar comeback in UK zoos they're a fascinating animal which doesn't get enough love.

 

[DavidBrown]

We mainly call them mountain lions, in the west at least. Sometimes people call them pumas, but that doesn't seem as prevalent. Sometimes people call them cougars.

The Florida mountain lion is commonly called the Florida panther.

 

[BeardsleyZooFan]

I prefer calling them cougars. Thanks for the article IanRRobinson. I wonder if more cougars in the West will mean more cougars might travel eastward like our visitor last year.

 

[jbnbsn99]

Most commonly called mountain lions here. Puma is more of a South American thing. Cougar has a completely different connotation now. Catamount was used mostly in the northeastern US.

 

[Stefka]

I like "cougar" the most, but it sounds funny with my accent, so I call them mountain lions

 

[Ituri]

Cougar is still a frequently used name in the northwest.

 

[snowleopard]

Cougar is still a frequently used name in the northwest.

You are absolutely correct. BC Wildlife Park and Greater Vancouver Zoo in Canada both use the term "cougar" on their websites, as do Woodland Park Zoo, Cougar Mountain Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park near Seattle in the United States. Those are the 5 establishments that currently have cougars (Woodland Park doesn't but used to) and only the term "cougar" is used on all 5 websites. Oregon Zoo is the next nearest zoo and the term "cougar" is again used there.

 

[Ituri]

You are absolutely correct. BC Wildlife Park and Greater Vancouver Zoo in Canada both use the term "cougar" on their websites, as do Woodland Park Zoo, Cougar Mountain Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park near Seattle in the United States. Those are the 5 establishments that currently have cougars (Woodland Park doesn't but used to) and only the term "cougar" is used on all 5 websites. Oregon Zoo is the next nearest zoo and the term "cougar" is again used there.

And college mascots in Pullman, WA and Provo, UT are Cougars.

 

[Arizona Docent]

There is a movement (or so I think - cannot really say where I heard this) to use the term puma in official circles to avoid confusion. But regional names are hard to overcome. When I do my monthly wild cat lecture and slide show at Reid Park Zoo (Tucson, Arizona) and I show a camera trap photo in the section on Arizona cats, here is what I say. "We also have a big cat, the puma, or what most people in Arizona call a mountain lion."

 

[Arizona Docent]

BTW the dramatic photo of the leaping puma is from an annual photo shoot put on by Triple D Game Farm, a wildlife modeling agency that provides animals (mainly north american predators) to photographers and film makers. They do a trip to Utah where they get the pumas to jump across cliffs like this for photographers. Too expensive for me to ever do, but it sure makes great photos.