The cougar is the largest of all the Canadian cats and is also known as the Mountain Lion. The cougar is considered and classified as an endangered species in five of the Canadian provinces. They are found all the way from British Columbia, Canada to the southern tip of South America. They have different shades of color because of their wide range throughout the world.

There has in the past been thirty or more sub-species of the cougar reported from different locations. Some recent studies show that this has or will be reduced to six subspecies. In the food chain cougars are known as one of the top predators, and has been hunted by man unmercifully.

The declining numbers of this cat has placed him on the endangered list in New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Manitoba. Here there is no hunting or trapping permitted of the cougar or mountain lion.

Alberta however still allows hunting once a year but with close monitoring of these cats so that no more than ten percent of the population is taken. In British Columbia it is much the same, there is a hunting season but with a limited time once a year and a limit on the numbers harvested from the province.

Man has hunted the cougar in the past with hunting dogs, guns, snares, traps, and have used poisons. This over the years has endangered the animal to the point of extinction in some places. Today there are limits and protection of this magnificent animal in many parts of the world.

The length of the cougar is approximately fifty-eight to one hundred and eight inches long (145 - 275 cm). They can weigh from seventy seven to two hundred and twenty pounds ( 35 - 100 kg). They have a height of approximately twenty-four to thirty inches (60 - 76 cm). They exist in Canada, Western United States, South America and Central America. There habitat can consist of mountains, grasslands, steppes, and forests. By the time they are two to three years of age they sexually are mature. They will usually have anywhere from one to six kittens after a gestation period of eighty to ninety six days. They have a short fur that can vary in colors from a sandy brown to a buff color to a slate gray or a reddish to brown color or to a light silvery color. The adult have no distinguished markings.

They have a short ear with dark color on the backs. They have a fairly small head with black markings around their nose area. They have a shorter front leg than back and they have a large foot. The cougar has a long tail that darkens at the tip. The cougar in South and Central America are smaller than the cougars found in North America.