Why Mysterious Mountain Lion Is the ‘Bigfoot’ of Big Cats

This amazing animal is similar to the legendary Bigfoot or Yeti. The elusive mountain lion has also acquired its own mythical status.

See interesting explanations of science and animal exploration. The secretive and solitary nature of this fantastic animal species makes them notoriously difficult to study and understand. There seems to be much that is still not known about the secretive lives of mountain lions.

However, futuristic innovative research techniques and technology have allowed biologists to get a glimpse into the behavior, diet, and ecology of these mysterious big cats.

Mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther - this fantastic big cat is actually known by more names than many other mammals. However, it's still the same cat, no matter what you call it. It is Puma concolor, the largest of the small cat species. In Southern California, they are commonly called mountain lions.

Fatal cougar attacks are extremely rare. They occur much less frequently than fatal snake bites, fatal lightning strikes, or fatal bee stings.

5 USA states with the highest numbers of mountain lions killed by trophy hunters are, in ranking order: Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.

Amazing: mountain lions can jump 45 feet in a single leap.

According to the informative Mountain Lion Foundation, a typical adult male weighs 110lb to 180lb and a female 80lb to 130lb. These big cats are rarely dangerous to humans but attacks on pets and livestock do happen.

Mountain lions are certainly stealthy predators. They hunt at night. They are often lying in wait for prey or silently stalking it before pouncing from behind and delivering a lethal bite. Usually, they prey on deer. They also feed on smaller animals, even insects, when necessary. Like all cats, mountain lions are strict carnivores. These big cats only rarely consume vegetation.