PUMA  
Puma concolor

The puma (or cougar) is the largest of the small cats with adults reaching from 120 up to, very rarely, 200 pounds. Because of the many similarities to the smaller cats, pumas are placed in the subfamily Felinae, while the "Big Cats" are classified within the subfamily Pantherinae. It is believed that the members of the family Felidae originated in Asia approximately 11 million years ago. The puma (also known as the cougar, mountain lion, or panther), is native to the Americas. A solitary cat, pumas have the greatest range of any wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. Pumas are found in nearly every New World habitat as they are an extremely adaptable cat. Only the jaguar is heavier than the puma in the New World, and pumas are the fourth heaviest cat in the world overall, after the tiger, lion, and jaguar. Considered currently as "Near Threatened", their conservation status is completely dependent upon preservation of their habitats to ensure their survival.

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