Today's Wildlife Wednesday animal is the mountain lion. Or puma. Or catamount. Or cougar. Or ghost cat. Or Mountain screamer. They are all correct and all names for the same cat species.
The mountain lion has more names than any other animal in the world. It has 40 English names, 18 names in the native languages of South America and 25 in the native languages of North America. Their scientific name is Puma Concolor, which means cat of one color.
Three more fun Mountain Lion Facts
1. Mountain Lions can't roar, but they can purr. They also growl, whistle, squeak, hiss and scream.
2. Baby mountain lions have blue eyes and spots. The spots will start to fade once they are a few months old. Around the same time their eyes starting changing from blue to their adult brown color.
3. The hind legs of the mountain lion are longer than their front legs which helps them jump. Mountain lions can jump 15 feet vertically.
What's your favorite name for the mountain lion?
For more fun animal facts check out some of our other Wildlife Wednesday posts