Wyoming’s mountain lions aren’t lions in the true scientific sense. African lions are classified among “roaring cats,” while mountain lions fall in the less glamorous-sounding “purring cat” category.
And, yes, they do actually purr.
Ken Logan is one of the country’s premier specialists on mountain lions, or as he prefers to call them, pumas.
He told Cowboy State Daily that during his 40 years of studying the elusive cats, he’s heard them purr a time or two.
“It’s just a lot bigger, louder noise” that what comes from a purring housecat, said Logan, a former research biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).
Brazilian Roots
Though “mountain lion” is the most common name for the big cats in Wyoming, they’re also called pumas, panthers, cougars and numerous other names, depending upon where they’re found.
And they can be found many places in the Western hemisphere, from northern British Columbia, Canada, to the southern tip of South America, Logan said.
In the Americas, the only cats larger than mountain lions are jaguars. Jaguars used to range into the southwestern U.S. but were pushed out as the region was settled.
They’ve been making a comeback, with some verified sightings in southeastern Arizona. Logan said his not aware of any verified reports of jaguars in New Mexico, where he currently lives.
Jaguars aren’t a Western Hemisphere species in the true sense, he said. It’s thought they descended from cats that traveled across the Bering Land Bridge – and ancient dry land connection between Siberia and Alaska.
Mountain lions, on the other hand, truly belong to the New World.
The best genetic evidence available so far indicates that their species emerged in what is now Brazil, about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, Logan said.
“They radiated out from there,” he said.
And they’ve been phenomenally successful in a huge variety of habitats, because they’re so adaptable, Logan said.
“They can eat everything from mice to moose,” he said.
Why Can’t They Roar?
African Lions, tigers and other cats in that genus can let loose with thundering roars.
So why can’t mountain lions?
It has to do with their bone structure, Dan Thompson, Wyoming Game and Fish Department large carnivore specialist, told Cowboy State Daily.
Roaring cats have a flexible bone called a hyoid bone, partly attached to their skulls with elastic ligaments.
“(Roaring) is related to the hyoid bone that allows larger cats – usually Panthera genus, like African lions and tigers – to produce a much louder sound or ‘roar.’ Whereas smaller cats, which include mountain lions, don't have this ‘roaring’ capacity,” he said.
Even so, mountain lions have an expansive vocabulary, as such.
“That doesn't mean they can't make some sounds that will let you know you are not welcome. Most cats make a lot more chirps and whistles than people realize,” Thompson said.
Mountain lions usually keep quiet, so as to not frighten prey away.
“Most felids (cat species), at least in North America, are usually pretty quiet since they're built on stealth,” Thompson said.
Logan said he’s witnessed mountain lions making whistling or chirping sounds, likely to communicate with each other.
As for the legendary mountain lion “scream,” Logan said it’s actually a caterwaul.
That sound is made by females in heat to attract potential mates, he said.
Truly Elusive
Another interesting tidbit about mountain lions, under their panther title, is that legendary black panthers probably don’t exist, Logan said.
He said that nearly every time he investigated reports of black mountain lion, “it turned out to be a black house cat.”
Farther to the south, verified reports of larger black cats are probably extremely rare jaguars with melanism.
Melanism is a condition that can cause black or partly-black fur in numerous species, although it apparently doesn’t threaten the animals’ health.
Last year, a fox with black fur from melanism was spotted along a roadside in Yellowstone National park.
For whatever reason, there’s no evidence yet that melanism occurs in mountain lions, Logan said.
While there might not be any mountain lions sporting black coats, their legendary elusiveness is no joke, Logan said.
During his career, he live-trapped hundreds of mountain lions for study.
But stumbling across one in the wild was another matter he said.
“In 40 years, I have probably ‘accidentally’ seen a mountain lion in the wild a dozen times,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
