In News
- Pumas, found throughout the Americas, maintain relationships with an astounding 485 living species and play a critical role in holding ecosystems together throughout the Western Hemisphere, according to a new study.
About
- Also known as cougars, mountain lions, panthers, and catamounts: span 28 countries in the Americas, but the species is considered to be declining overall.
- Pumas inhabit every forest type across their range: as well as montane deserts and open steppe grasslands.
- The puma has the largest geographic range of any native terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, from southern Alaska down to the southern tip of Chile.
- The puma is listed as a species of “Least Concern”: by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
- Main threats
- Habitat loss and fragmentation, Human-puma conflict, poaching.
Source: DTE
