North American Cougar (Felis Concolor) - aka Panthers, Mountain Lions, Pumas, Catamounts
By: Jason Abels – Assistant Director www.tigerhomes.org Animal Sanctuary

Now here are two awesome animals David and I really want to introduce to the world via the addition of a few Web Cams. All things in good time! Nevada and Rebate if you have not guessed already are North American Cougars. Although, depending on were you live, you may be more accustomed to calling them Panthers, Mt. Lions, Pumas, or even Catamounts. You see, the Cougar (Felis concolor), has one of the largest habitats of any feline species, thus their many names. At one time they were found from the tip of Florida “Florida Panther”, to California “ Mountain Lion”, and from the bottom of South America were they are called the Puma, all the way up to Canada. Depending on were they are found, the Cougar may be called by many names.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ANIMAL WEBCAMS Nevada above -- more pictures coming soon!

Nevada and Rebate like most Cougars have never ending energy. They are a handful, always eager to take advantage of any attention by us or any vulnerability of each other. Cougars are known as the largest of all the “Small Cats”. Their claim to fame is that they also hold the vertical and horizontal jumping record! Cougars have been known to jump 25 feet across a stream and 18 feet straight up a tree. They are true athletes, and David and I are always in awe in their presence. I can literally watch them for hours. Another cool bit of “inside information” I can guarantee most of you do not know, is the fact that Cougars have the best breath of any cat. Try that for some kick butt bar trivia : )

As mentioned above, Cougars are classified as a “Small Cat”, unlike a White Tiger, which is classified as a “Big Cat”. The major difference separating the two classifications is the ability to roar vs. the ability to purr. All of the “Small Cats” can purr, while all of the “Large Cats” have the ability to roar. Now trust me, even though a Cougar does not have the ability to roar, he certainly has the ability to instantly make your heart skip a beat vocally if he wants to. Cougars do actually have the coolest of all feline vocalizations as well as the loudest recorded purring ever documented.

David and I really do dream of putting Web Cams in all of the habitats. As we grow we will be certain to place a few inside the habitat of Nevada and Rebate! They are true characters, and we are sure there endearing personalities would be captured immediately upon viewing them. Please keep Nevada and Rebate, as well as all of the numerous other “Off Camera” species we house near to your hearts while viewing the rest of the gang on cam. In the meantime, if you have an interest to learn more about Cougars and even more specifically the Florida Panther subspecies, please consider purchasing our “Educational DVD’s”. In both “Florida’s Wild Future”, and “Power Cats”, we feature an up close and personal educational lesson on the Florida Panther with our good buddy John Jones a local expert on the entire species of Felis Concolor. You can preview selected video clips on our Gift Shop.

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Looking for Information on Big Cats?
White Tiger Bengal Tigers Siberian Tigers South China Tigers Sumatran Tigers Indochinese Tigers Asiatic Lions African Lions Asiatic Lions White Lions

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Other Great Cats
Snow Leopard Cheetah King Cheetah
Cheetah Genetic Diversity Distribution Table Florida Panthers  

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Extinct Lions
Barbary Lion Cape Lion