ANIMAL CONNECTION

Historically the most common pattern in heterosexual couples is an older man with a younger woman, however the converse (older woman/younger man) has increased significantly in many countries.  Factors leading into a search for a significantly younger or older individual with whom to share an intimate relationship can vary wildly. The common perception is that younger mates serve the purpose of a “trophy” or object of status, while older mates are perceived to have greater resources, wisdom, or sexual knowledge.  Older women can bring an exciting new dimension to relationships.

How are cougars and woman similar?  Check out the new show, “Cougar Town” with Courtney Cox.  Is this who she is?  Is this what people think of women from Florida?  A woman who is 35+, sexually cunning, that prefers to hunt rather than be hunted and is non-committal, choosing to move from mate to mate without ever settling down are called  cougars.

The animal seems to be invisible.  Studies have shown that cougars are typically solitary, spending most of their lives in well-defined home ranges that vary in size according to a cat’s gender, the season, habitat quality, and prey availability. Generally, male territories are larger than those of females, with females often sharing overlapping ranges. Cougars mark the boundaries of their territories with olfactory signposts, or scrapes, specifically by building and urinating on piles of dirt, pine needles, and leaves.

The omnipresent but rarely seen cougar is not only the most widely distributed New World cat, but definitely the one with the most names. Depending on geographic region, it is called the puma, mountain lion, red tiger, deercat, mountain devil, king cat, Mexican lion, panther, mountain screamer, silver lion, catamount, even sneak cat.

Found from the Canadian Yukon to the tip of South America, from sea level to fourteen thousand feet or more, these adaptable cats have the greatest distribution of any terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere.

Although they cannot roar, cougars have been known to chirp, peep, even whistle. Kittens make a series of short, high-pitched peeps when frightened and adults sometimes produce low, hunting whistles before a chase. The name, screamer, refers to the blood-curdling mating calls produced by a female cougar in estrus.

Cougars are efficient day and night active predators built to leap, climb trees, sprint, and ambush. Cougars have excellent vision, hearing, and olfaction and use these senses to detect and stalk their prey. Long hind limbs in proportion to fore limbs are an adaptation for jumping and easier movement through steep canyons and ravines. Big, padded paws help the cougar navigate through variable terrain and grapple their next meal. Inch-and-a-half-long canines in concert with sheathed claws make them armed and deadly. When prey is detected, the eyes and ears of the cougar fix on the site until the source of motion is determined. With their long tail used for balance, these athletic felines can make incredible leaps in pursuit of prey or to silently disappear into the underbrush.

Although cougars prefer to eat deer and elk, their generalist diet can include everything from mouse to moose, including grasshoppers.

Many cougars are shot on sight by unhappy ranchers in southern Arizona, and Texas where they allow unrestrained cougar killing. In Utah, interest in the sport of cougar hunting is increasing, as reflected by the growing number of pursuit permits being issued each year.  While states with cougar populations allow the controlled seasonal hunting of cougars as game animals, California is the only state that, so far, has won a hard-fought battle to eliminate sport hunting for cougar altogether

I’m not really sure how the woman and the animal were tied together but it seems to me that the cougar is a very diverse animal that can adapt to almost any situation, as most woman do…..it has nothing to do with age.

9 Responses to “Cougars, Women or Animals?”