British Columbia Wildlife
Cougar

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Cougar (Felis concolor)

The British Columbia cougar is elusive, sleek and graceful. A beautiful animal to observe from a distance. The cougar is Canada's largest member of the feline family and often is referred to as a mountain lion or panther. Although, not accurate, the names have stuck.

The Interior cougars of BC, Canada have lighter colored coats of fur than the coastal cougar, which tends to be smaller, redder and is unique to Vancouver Island. Cougars primarily occupy the southern third of British Columbia, while on Vancouver Island, BC the greatest numbers of cougars are found on the northern half of the island.

They cougar is one of BC's greatest hunters who hunt using their strong sense of sight and sound. Mostly the cougar population hunt for deer, wild sheep, elk, rabbits, beaver, raccoons, grouse, and occasionally, when wondering too close to a community, livestock. The smaller prey is often killed by the cougar snapping their necks while the larger prey is suffocated by the cougar's jaws clamping down on the preys neck. A cougar is capable of killing large animals such as a 270 kg (600 lb) moose.

Female cougars breeding season is every eighteen to twenty-four months and consists of the mother having two or three young. The young is dependent on the female cougar for 12 to 20 months. By the time spring rolls around and into the summer, one to two-year old cougars become independent of their mothers and start hunting on their own. They may roam widely in search of unoccupied territory. At this young age is when cougars are most likely to conflict with humans. They do not know better.