NORTHWESTERN COUGAR
Felis concolor oregonensis Rafinesque
The cougar is the largest of the cats found in the region, measuring up to more than eight feet in total length and weighing 150 pounds or more. The body is slender, with a small head and long tail. Its coloration above may range from reddish brown to gray brown, darkest along the back. The underparts are whitish with the light areas extending forward as far as the chin. The tail is brown with a prominent black tip. Young cougars are somewhat lighter in color, with large dark spots along the back and sides.
Specimens in park collection: Mounted specimen at the Forest House at Ohanapecosh.
Cougars, or mountain lions, were formerly found over practically all of the United States, but are now extinct over most of their original range.
The Northwestern cougar ranges from northern California through Oregon and Washington into British Columbia. It is fairly common in some parts of its range.
In the park it may be found from the lower elevations up to forest line. Most records have come from around the Nisqually River drainage and from the west side of the park. However, it is apparently well distributed throughout the region.
Probably no animal found within the park affects the visitor as does the cougar. To many people it is regarded as a highly dangerous, blood-thirsty creature awaiting only a chance to pounce upon some unsuspecting hiker. On the contrary, there are few animals in the woods that are as shy or that run faster from humans than does the cougar. The chances of actually observing one in the wilds are very remote, as the lion usually sees without being seen, and beats a hasty retreat.
Much has been said pro and con about the ability of the cougar to emit a “scream.” Much depends upon the person’s conception of what makes up a “scream.” For the most part the cougar is silent, but contrary to what is often claimed, it does have the ability to express itself vocally. At times it may utter a loud cry that reminds one somewhat of the caterwaul of a domesticated tomcat. One female lion in a zoo gave a long series of such squalls when her kitten was taken from her. The so-called “woman in agony” scream, so often attributed to the cougar, is more likely that of the grown young of the great horned owl.
The cougar is also well known because of its great liking for venison, and without doubt it accounts for several deer a year. To say that a lion kills large numbers of deer each year (some persons claim as high as 100 per year) is something that needs clarification. There is little doubt that when deer are abundant a lion will get a considerable number; conversely when deer are not common the number taken will be low. Under natural conditions the lion serves as an important “control” upon the numbers of deer in any given region, for the most part killing old animals that have passed their prime or young deer that aren’t sufficiently alert, so offering no real threat to the deer population as a whole, but definitely helping to preserve forest reproduction from destruction by preventing an excessive multiplication of deer.