Outside of people, no animal regularly hunts grown cougars for food.1Wikipedia. Cougar Still, sitting at the top of the food chain doesn’t make a cougar’s life safe. Its biggest rivals mostly want its dinner, not the cat itself, and for most cougars the greatest danger comes from humans and from other cougars rather than from a predator in the woods.
Why Adult Cougars Have Almost No Natural Predators
Even where wolves live, cougars are rarely killed by other predators. Over about eight years of tracking adult cougars near Yellowstone, wolves caused 2 of 12 known deaths.2PubMed Central. Diets, dominance hierarchies, and kleptoparasitism drive asymmetrical interactions between wolves and cougars The wolves didn’t eat either cougar. They were after the elk the cougar had killed.3PubMed Central. Diets, dominance hierarchies, and kleptoparasitism drive asymmetrical interactions between wolves and cougars Both cougars were caught where there was no tree to climb for escape.4PubMed Central. Diets, dominance hierarchies, and kleptoparasitism drive asymmetrical interactions between wolves and cougars In that same period, cougars killed none of the 90 wolves that died there.5PubMed Central. Diets, dominance hierarchies, and kleptoparasitism drive asymmetrical interactions between wolves and cougars
An adult cougar is a hard target for several reasons. Adult males can weigh well over 100 pounds and carry powerful jaws and claws. Any injury is costly for a predator, so most animals avoid a fight with a big cat. Cougars also climb trees and rocks quickly, and wolves and coyotes can’t follow. And because cougars are solitary, secretive, and active mostly at dawn, dusk, and night, they run into rivals less often to begin with. Rock ledges and steep, broken terrain can serve the same purpose as a tree. Cougars also hunt by ambush, in short, powerful bursts rather than long chases, so a wolf pack built for stamina and numbers has little chance of catching a healthy cat that reaches cover first.
There is a difference between being prey and being killed. A predator eats what it kills, while a rival kills to remove competition or win food. Wolves killing cougars is competition, not hunting, which is why cougars are still called apex predators even though wolves sometimes kill them.
Wolves Are the Cougar’s Toughest Rival
Wolves win most encounters, and the relationship runs one way. Wolves both killed cougars and took their kills, while cougars did not do the same to wolves.6Ecoscience. Interactions between cougars (Puma concolor) and gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Banff National Park, Alberta Cougars and wolves share territory, but cougars tend to stay away from spots wolves used recently.7Ecoscience. Interactions between cougars (Puma concolor) and gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Banff National Park, Alberta So wolves change where cougars spend their time and what they eat.8Ecoscience. Interactions between cougars (Puma concolor) and gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Banff National Park, Alberta
A typical encounter starts with a cougar killing an elk and feeding on it over several days, staying nearby. A pack finds the carcass, often by scent or by following ravens and other scavengers that gather at carcasses. The cougar usually leaves or climbs a tree rather than fight several wolves, since a lone cat facing a pack risks injury over a meal it can replace. The cat in real danger is the one surprised at the carcass on open ground, with no tree or cliff nearby.
Kittens and hungry cats pay the biggest price. Where wolves returned to a cougar area, wolves killed at least 5 tracked cougar kittens.9PubMed Central. Recolonizing wolves influence the realized niche of resident cougars Over the same years, 9 adult cougars and 10 kittens starved, which competition with wolves may partly explain.10PubMed Central. Recolonizing wolves influence the realized niche of resident cougars Wolves bother cougar kills all year, most of all in winter.11PubMed Central. Prey size mediates interference competition and predation dynamics in a large carnivore community
The damage from wolves is often hunger rather than wounds. Each stolen carcass means calories the cougar has to replace by hunting again, and every new hunt costs energy and carries some risk of injury. A cat that keeps losing meals can slowly weaken without a wolf ever touching it.
Bears Steal Cougar Kills More Than Wolves Do
Bears are the most frequent thieves of cougar kills. In one Rocky Mountain area, bears pushed cougars off their kills about twice as often as wolves did, roughly 1 in 10 kills versus 1 in 20.12PubMed Central. Prey size mediates interference competition and predation dynamics in a large carnivore community Bears do this almost only in spring and summer, when they are out of their dens.13PubMed Central. Prey size mediates interference competition and predation dynamics in a large carnivore community In a California forest, black bears found cougar-killed deer within about two days.14News Bureau. Study: Black bears are eating pumas’ lunch A cougar that would feed on a deer for 5 to 7 days in winter got about two days when a bear arrived.15News Bureau. Study: Black bears are eating pumas’ lunch
A bear wins because a black bear can be as heavy as or heavier than a cougar, and it will often just walk up and start feeding. That forces the cat to decide whether the meal is worth a fight. A deer is replaceable, but a broken jaw or torn muscle is not, so backing off is usually the sound choice. The cost is real, though: the cat has lost the calories it spent on the hunt and has to start another one sooner than planned.
Cougars can partly avoid bears. Bears are less likely to show up when a cougar has killed small prey.16PubMed Central. Residential development reduces black bear Ursus americanus opportunity to scavenge cougar Puma concolor killed prey They also visit cougar kills less often in areas with more houses.17PubMed Central. Residential development reduces black bear Ursus americanus opportunity to scavenge cougar Puma concolor killed prey And cougars sometimes kill small black bears themselves.18News Bureau. Study: Black bears are eating pumas’ lunch
What Preys on Cougar Kittens
Mother cougars don’t build elaborate dens; they choose a sheltered spot.19Mountain Lion Foundation. About Mountain Lions – Mountain Lion Foundation The spot’s job is to hide kittens from coyotes, golden eagles, and other cougars, and from rain and sun.20Mountain Lion Foundation. About Mountain Lions – Mountain Lion Foundation Wolves are a confirmed killer of kittens where they share range.21PubMed Central. Recolonizing wolves influence the realized niche of resident cougars
Kittens are left alone because a mother has to leave to hunt, sometimes for many hours. She can’t carry them along or hunt effectively with them at her heels. Very young kittens can’t run fast or climb well, so if something finds them, they can’t get away. Their spotted coats blend into rocks and brush. Risk drops as kittens grow and start following their mother.
The danger for kittens is quite different from the danger for adults. Animals that could never threaten an adult, like coyotes or eagles, can take a small kitten, so the predator list for kittens is much longer.
Other Cougars Are a Leading Cause of Death
Territorial fights take a heavy toll. Among Florida panthers older than 6 months, fights with other panthers caused about a quarter of deaths.22PubMed. Causes of mortality of free-ranging Florida panthers Near Los Angeles, young cougars were more likely to be killed by other cougars, while adults were more likely to die from human causes.23Europe PMC / Biological Conservation. Survival and competing mortality risks of mountain lions in a major metropolitan area Young males were often killed by territorial adult males in the Santa Monica Mountains.24Europe PMC / Biological Conservation. Survival and competing mortality risks of mountain lions in a major metropolitan area
Young males are most at risk because they leave their mother’s range and have to find unclaimed ground, so they travel through land already held by other males. Adult males defend large territories and will attack intruding males. A young male that finds open land can settle and avoid trouble, but one that runs into a resident male has little chance. Adult males may also kill kittens, which is one reason mothers hide them.
Development makes these fights worse. Freeways and development that trap young males keep them from dispersing far enough, so they keep running into the same residents.25Europe PMC / Biological Conservation. Survival and competing mortality risks of mountain lions in a major metropolitan area
Humans Are the Biggest Threat to Cougars
Vehicles and conflict killings top the list even where cougars are protected. In California, where cougars are specially protected, the most common known causes of death were being killed after attacking livestock and being hit by cars.26PubMed Central. The ecology of human-caused mortality for a protected large carnivore Among Florida panthers, cars caused about a third of deaths, the single largest cause.27PubMed. Causes of mortality of free-ranging Florida panthers Illegal killing caused about 1 in 10 Florida panther deaths.28PubMed. Causes of mortality of free-ranging Florida panthers
Roads are so deadly because cougars have large home ranges and often need to cross highways to reach mates, prey, or new territory. Being active at dawn, dusk, and night, when drivers have trouble seeing them, adds to the risk. Wildlife crossings and fencing that guides animals toward them reduce collisions where they are built.
Legal hunting also kills many cougars and may affect conflicts with people. Near Yellowstone, a third of known adult cougar deaths came from legal hunting outside the park.29PubMed Central. Diets, dominance hierarchies, and kleptoparasitism drive asymmetrical interactions between wolves and cougars Across 30 years in British Columbia, more hunting pressure was linked to more conflicts between cougars and people.30PubMed Central. Hunting as a management tool? Cougar-human conflict is positively related to trophy hunting Cougars killed in conflicts were younger than hunted cougars.31PubMed Central. Hunting as a management tool? Cougar-human conflict is positively related to trophy hunting
Homeowners in cougar country can lower the risk. Keep livestock and pets in secure enclosures at night, because attacks on animals are a main reason cougars end up killed. Avoid attracting deer to your yard with feed or gardens they like, since deer draw cougars close to houses. If a cougar keeps visiting, report it to wildlife officials rather than acting on your own.
How Houses and Poisons Raise the Risk
Living near housing shortens female cougars’ lives. In California’s Santa Cruz Mountains, female cougars in semi-rural areas had annual survival about 18 percentage points lower than females in remote areas.32PubMed Central. Habitat fragmentation reduces survival and drives source-sink dynamics for a large carnivore As a result, in about 42% of that region, cougars were dying faster than they were replaced.33PubMed Central. Habitat fragmentation reduces survival and drives source-sink dynamics for a large carnivore
Female survival matters most because each female lost means fewer kittens in coming years, so losses among females weigh more than losses among males. A population can look stable overall while shrinking in developed areas, because cats from wild land keep moving in to replace those lost.
Rat poison travels up the food chain. Poisons spread through soil and water and build up in animals higher in the food chain.34Felidae Conservation Fund. The Hidden Toll of Rodenticides Poisoning Pumas and Bobcats A cougar can be poisoned by eating prey that ate rodent bait. Choosing traps or non-poison rodent control near wild land reduces this risk.
Hunger, Injury, and Disease
Hunting big prey is dangerous. Cougars can be injured or killed while hunting, and deer and elk can hurt them.35Predator Defense. Cougars at Risk An elk or deer can kick, gore, or crush a cougar during an attack, and a broken jaw or leg can leave the cat unable to hunt. Injury often leads to starvation rather than instant death, which helps explain why hunger and injury are linked. Starvation and other natural causes made up a third of known adult deaths near Yellowstone.36PubMed Central. Diets, dominance hierarchies, and kleptoparasitism drive asymmetrical interactions between wolves and cougars Infectious disease, by comparison, caused only about 3% of Florida panther deaths.37PubMed. Causes of mortality of free-ranging Florida panthers
Small, isolated populations face inbreeding. Roads and cities cut small groups off from others, so closely related cats breed and pass on harmful traits. Florida panthers became known for kinked tails, cowlicks, undescended testicles, and heart defects, signs of health problems from close relatives breeding.38PubMed Central. Multi-generational benefits of genetic rescue These problems declined after panthers from Texas were brought in to add new genes.39PubMed Central. Multi-generational benefits of genetic rescue
Alligators and Other Unusual Threats
Florida is a special case. Large alligators can attack mammals that come to the water.40Natives of nature. Alligator vs Florida Panther: Who Rules the Everglades? The risk is at drinking spots and river crossings in the Everglades, where a panther must come to the water and an alligator can ambush from it, with no advantage to the cat. Yet Florida panthers sometimes eat young alligators under about 6 to 8 feet long.41Natives of nature. Alligator vs Florida Panther: Who Rules the Everglades? There is little confirmed record of alligators killing panthers, so treat it as rare.