Pumas, known by many names including mountain lion and cougar, are apex predators across the Americas. These powerful felines are obligate carnivores, meaning their diet consists exclusively of meat. As top predators, they help maintain the balance of ecosystems within their wide geographical range.
Main Components of the Puma Diet
The primary component of a puma’s diet consists of large hoofed mammals, often referred to as ungulates. These animals, such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose, provide the substantial nutritional intake necessary for a puma’s survival. In North America, ungulates account for a significant portion, sometimes over 99%, of a cougar’s diet, particularly during winter months. A single large ungulate kill can sustain a puma for several days.
Deer species are consistently the most common and preferred prey across many puma habitats. Their abundance and size make them an ideal and reliable food source. Pumas are skilled at hunting these larger animals, often targeting younger or more vulnerable individuals, which contributes to the health of deer populations. An adult male cougar in some regions may consume one deer or elk every 9 to 12 days.
While deer are a staple, pumas also hunt other large ungulates like bighorn sheep and mountain goats. In some areas, feral hogs and wild horses can also be part of their diet. Females raising cubs may increase their hunting frequency, potentially making a kill every three days.
Diverse and Opportunistic Food Sources
Beyond large ungulates, pumas exhibit an opportunistic feeding strategy, consuming a wide variety of other animals, especially when primary prey is less available. This diverse diet includes smaller mammals such as rabbits, hares, porcupines, raccoons, and various rodents like mice and squirrels. These smaller prey items become more important when larger game is scarce or for younger pumas still honing their hunting skills.
Pumas are also known to prey on birds, including wild turkeys and quail, and occasionally reptiles. While less common, instances of pumas eating fish or even snails have been recorded.
Scavenging, or eating carrion, is another supplementary food source for pumas, despite earlier beliefs that they rarely scavenged. Research indicates that pumas are opportunistic scavengers and will consume carcasses they did not kill, treating them similarly to their own kills by dragging and caching them. This behavior is particularly evident when carcasses are readily available.
Hunting Techniques and Consumption Habits
Pumas are solitary hunters that primarily rely on stealth and ambush tactics to secure their prey. They often operate during crepuscular hours or at night, utilizing their keen senses for detection. Their hunting strategy involves silently stalking an animal, often from elevated positions like ledges or tree limbs, before launching a powerful and sudden attack.
Once a puma has closed the distance, it uses its strength for a lethal bite. For larger prey, the common method involves a bite to the throat, crushing the larynx and causing asphyxiation. For smaller deer or fawns, a powerful bite to the back of the skull can break the neck. Their powerful jaws and specialized teeth are designed for tearing flesh.
After a kill, pumas typically drag the carcass to a secluded spot and cover it with leaves, dirt, or debris. This caching behavior helps conceal the kill from scavengers and allows the puma to return and feed on it for several days. A puma can consume between 20 and 30 pounds of meat in a single meal, which can sustain them for three to seven days.
Geographic and Environmental Influences on Diet
A puma’s diet is significantly influenced by its geographic location and the specific environmental conditions of its habitat. The availability of prey varies widely across their extensive range, which spans diverse landscapes from mountainous regions to deserts, forests, and swamps. For example, pumas in North America heavily rely on deer and elk, which are abundant in those ecosystems.
In contrast, pumas in Central and South America may have a diet with a lower ratio of deer, preferring small to mid-sized mammals, including large rodents like capybaras. In the southwestern United States, their diet might include javelina, while Florida panthers often prey on feral hogs and armadillos. Seasonal changes also play a role, as prey availability can fluctuate throughout the year, prompting pumas to adapt their hunting choices.
The density and type of vegetation cover in an area also affect what pumas eat, as dense underbrush and rocky terrain provide ideal conditions for their ambush hunting style. Pumas in urbanized areas, where natural prey might be scarce, may occasionally prey on domestic animals or livestock.