The Making of a Diorama
The Habitat Views video considers ways of looking at dioramas today, and documents the creation of several new displays. Take a look over on our YouTube Channel >
Recreating Nature Indoors
Ever wonder who made the dioramas in our mammal halls? Read all about the artists who created these wonderful scenes. Learn more >
Support Today's Scientists, Inspire Tomorrow's Scientists
When you give to the Museum, you support our scientists' research on the planet's biodiversity. You are also creating tomorrow's scientists. Our teacher resources make each field trip a learning experience, our education outreach brings the science of discovery to schools all over L.A. Learn more >
Behind-the-Scenes Tours
Get special access to the Museum's vast collections on these exclusive tours!
Learn more >
User login
Cougar, mountain lion, or puma
Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771)
Scene:
Owens Valley, CaliforniaBackground artist:
Hanson Duvall Puthuff (1875-1972)Also present:
Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus)The range of the cougar, the largest North American feline, covers a wider array of ecological zones than any other New World mammal.
Cougars hunt alone, ambushing their prey from behind and killing with a bite to the nape of the neck.
Biological Information
Range:
North and South America from southeast Alaska to southern Argentina and Chile
Habitat:
Forests, desert scrub, chaparral, swamps, tropical rain forest, alpine steppe
Status:
Extinct in eastern USA and Canada, endangered in Florida, stable elsewhere
Diet:
Deer, elk, wild sheep, small mammals, birds, domestic stock
Further information about this species may be found on the Animal Diversity Web page for cougar.