Zahara, Fraser and Zoe

Felis concolor (Cougar, also known as mountain lion and puma) We have a cougar named Fraser and an older female named Zahara living at the Park. Description: A large, unspotted cat with a relatively small head and a long, dark-tipped tail. Pale brown to tawny above; white overlaid with buff below. Dark spot at base of whiskers. Ears short and rounded, with dark backs. Legs long and heavy; feet large. Juvenile buff with black spots.L 6–9' (1.5–2.75 m); T 21–37" (53–92 cm); HF 8 3/4–12" (22–31 cm); Wt 75–275 lb (34–125 kg). The most widely distributed cat in the Americas (found from Canada to Argentina), the Cougar is a solitary, strongly territorial hunting species. Unlike most cats, it hunts day or night, although it is generally active by day only in undisturbed areas, choosing to hunt at night in populated areas to avoid humans. A good climber and excellent jumper, able to leap more than 20 feet (6 m). It feeds primarily on large mammals, especially deer A male may cover up to 25 miles (40 km) in one night. It can outrun a deer, but only for short distances. The cougar kills its prey by biting into the back of the victim’s neck. Where deer abound, an adult Mountain Lion may kill an average of one per week. (This is often beneficial to the deer herd, helping to keep it from overpopulating.) Usually silent, the cougar can produce many kinds of calls, including screams, hisses, and growls. It also utters a shrill, piercing whistle, evidently an alarm, when it has been treed or cornered; a female uses this whistle to signal her cubs. The male has a large home range that does not overlap with that of another male; the female has a smaller one that may overlap with those of other females and may be enclosed by that of a male. The newborn cubs, heavily spotted for the first three months of life, are raised only by the female. At about three months, the young are weaned and begin hunting with the mother. A female Cougar can breed until at least 12 years of age, a male to at least 20.

Canada Lynx

Lynx candensis   

In 2000, the Park became the home for three Lynx from Alberta. These kits had been born in captivity in May of 2000.

The Canada lynx has very thick, light brown or gray fur with light black spots. It has large ears with long black tufts at the ends. Its tail is short with a black tip at the end. It has a pointed, beard-like ruff and long legs with big paws. Its paws work like snowshoes and distribute the lynx's weight, helping it move in the snow.
The lynx's range extends over most of Canada and Alaska and south into south into the US.
They live in deep coniferous forests and prefer rocky areas bogs and swamps. About 75% of their diet consists of snowshoe hares. Their population rises and declines with have populations. They will also eat rodents, birds and even larger animals like deer on occasion. They often store food by covering it up.
They are usually solitary hunters and will sometimes hunt at night. They are also great climbers and will scale trees to pursue prey.
The average litter has two to four kittens. The kittens have prominent spots that fade as they age.They are fully weaned at three months and will eat meat as early as one month. They stay with their mother for the first year and siblings may stay together for a time.
  By nature, lynx are very territorial and solitary requiring very large home ranges.

Kelly Funk photos