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Cougar Predation
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Atlantic Forest
Onças do Iguaçú. ''The image shows a Puma that hunted a Pecari calf. When we analyzed the images we saw that several photos show a group of Pecaries running away from the puma which managed to predate on a calf. The Collared and White Lipped peccaries are very important for the feeding of Iguaçu pumas and jaguars and unfortunately are also targets of poachers. This is a direct threat to pumas/jaguars because the reduction in the amount of food available in the forest can cause them to prey on livestock and be killed in retaliation. Let's let the only hunters in the forest be the animals that live there.'' 
Lioness with bighorn sheep kill in Nevada
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author By Victor Trujillo 
Cougar predation on bighorn sheep in southwestern Alberta during winter
Abstract Predation by cougars (Puma concolor) upon bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) was studied in southwestern Alberta during winters from 19851986 to 19931994. We examined 320 kills and found that ungulates provided >99% of the biomass consumed by cougars in NovemberApril. All ungulate species found within the study area were taken by cougars. Predation on bighorn sheep varied greatly from year to year; cougars were known to kill 013% of the November sheep population, and 057% of over-winter sheep mortality consisted of known cougar kills. Of 29 bighorns killed by cougars, 13 were lambs. The remainder ranged in age from 1 to 17 years and included 9 ewes and 7 rams. Cougar predation on bighorn sheep appears to be largely an individual, learned behaviour; most cougars rarely killed sheep, but some preyed heavily upon them. One female killed 9% of the population and 26% of the lambs over a single winter. For mountain-dwelling ungulates that occur in small groups, the presence of one or a few individual specialist predators may strongly and unpredictably influence demography and behaviour. https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/z97-098 pdf: https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z97-098
Llama Predated by Puma in the municipality of Turco (Oruru)- Bolívia
photo: Nuno Nergrões  *This image is copyright of its original author
 From an 1979 University Book of Mammals (especially carnivores)
Mountain Lion Chasing a grizzly bear cub
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
Cougar killing llamas, goats in Clackamas County
Description:A cougar is believed to have killed 3 sheep, 2 llamas and a goat near Hollybrook Road in Clackamas County, and the US Department of Agriculture is handling the case.
Native, exotic, and livestock prey: assessment of puma Puma concolor diet in South American temperate region
Abstract: Understanding the food habits of mammalian carnivores is crucial for the comprehension of the role of apex-predators in maintaining healthy ecosystems. The puma is currently the most widespread top predator and the carnivore most frequently involved in conflicts with humans in the Americas. We analyzed puma diet in the South American temperate region, a vast area largely modified by humans, to assess the importance of native prey with respect to livestock and exotic species. We reviewed 18 studies published between 1991 and 2020 to which we added 19 feces of puma from a rangeland area of central Argentina. “Undetermined small rodent,” plains vizcacha, European hare, and wild boar were the most frequent species in the small area of the Argentinean Espinal. In the southern temperate region, exotic (European hare and wild boar) and native species (guanaco and armadillos) were the most frequent wild prey species, while sheep was the most frequent livestock followed by cattle. Exotic species had a greater frequency of occurrence than native and livestock species. Livestock frequency of occurrence was greater inside protected areas than outside. These findings reveal that, although the puma is considered in this large area as conflictive, wild prey (exotic and native) are its main food sources. Given the potentially crucial role exotic species can play in the ecosystem, understanding the role of pumas in controlling their populations is a challenge for future research.
Patagonian lionesses going after huge guanacos
 *This image is copyright of its original author Excellent footage of a female killing a huge guanaco, the size ratio between these two can be as large as the guanaco being 3 to 4 times her size  *This image is copyright of its original author Credits to my friend Wayaja Vargas
New Mexico
"Thanks to my man Steve and his dogs for getting me my first lion. It killed a full grown cow a week ago and we finally caught up with it today. Craziest hunt I have ever been on!" Unfortunately the cougar was killed afterward, such a shame.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author By Carson Healy
Cougar Kill Rate and Prey Composition in a Multiprey System, by Knopff et al.
ABSTRACT
Assessing the impact of large carnivores on ungulate prey has been challenging in part because even basic components of predation are difficult to measure. For cougars (Puma concolor), limited field data are available concerning fundamental aspects of predation, such as kill rate, or the influence of season, cougar demography, or prey vulnerability on predation, leading to uncertainty over how best to predict or interpret cougar–ungulate dynamics. Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry used to locate predation events in the field is an efficient way to monitor large numbers of cougars over long periods in all seasons. We applied GPS telemetry techniques combined with occasional snow-tracking to locate 1,509 predation events for 53 marked and an unknown number of unmarked cougars and amassed 9,543 days of continuous predation monitoring for a subset of 42 GPS-collared cougars in west-central Alberta, Canada. Cougars killed ungulates at rates near the upper end of the previously recorded range, and demography substantially influenced annual kill rate in terms of both number of ungulates (subad F (SAF) 5 24, subad M (SAM) 5 31, ad M 5 35, ad F 5 42, ad F with kittens ,6 months 5 47, ad F with kittens .6 months 5 67) and kg of prey (SAF 5 1,441, SAM 5 2,051, ad M 5 4,708, ad F 5 2,423, ad F with kittens ,6 months 5 2,794, ad F with kittens .6 months 5 4,280). Demography also influenced prey composition; adult females subsisted primarily on deer (Odocoileus spp.), whereas adult males killed more large ungulates (e.g., moose [Alces alces]), and subadults incorporated the highest proportion of nonungulate prey. Predation patterns varied by season and cougars killed ungulates 1.5 times more frequently in summer when juveniles dominated the diet. Higher kill rate in summer appeared to be driven primarily by greater vulnerability of juvenile prey and secondarily by reduced handling time for smaller prey. Moreover, in accordance with predictions of the reproductive vulnerability hypothesis, female ungulates made up a higher proportion of cougar diet in spring just prior to and during the birthing period, whereas the proportion of males increased dramatically in autumn during the rut, supporting the notion that prey vulnerability influences cougar predation. Our results have implications for the impact cougars have on ungulate populations and have application for using cougar harvest to manage ungulates.
This is one of the most comprehensive and detailed studies made on cougar predation in a region rich in ungulate diversity, to begin with, the study shows a table of the most common prey items for cougars across different North American sites:  *This image is copyright of its original author Mule deer and elk were the most common prey items all across the board, trumping smaller game like white-tailed deer in preference. In Florida, alongside WT deer, feral hogs made up the main prey items for cougars, while in the study in question WT, mule deer, and moose were the main prey items. Average weight of the prey items recorded in the study by sex and age:  *This image is copyright of its original author Predation rates of cougars divided by sex and age, notice how for adult males moose, deer (WT and mule), and feral horse were the main prey items in that order.  *This image is copyright of its original author Predation on adult moose and horse was relatively small, but the largest killed specimens weighed over 400 kg, representing less than 2% of the kills, while adult moose and horse, in general, made up 14% of the kills:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author As adult males targeted larger ungulates than females, their kill rates were lesser as they would spend more time feeding on one large kill:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author This study highlights once more the tendency of cougars punching way above their weight class when it comes to the prey they target, with the juvenile large ungulates preferred by males averaging over 200 kg, more twice the size of average males in Alberta, and going as high as over 400 kg for the rare adult moose and horses killed as well, nearly 5 times their size.  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Credits to the Authors
Puma with Capybara kill in Pantanal.
Stella Ditt Pfundstein ''A very rare moment of a wild puma in the Pantanal eating its prey that it has just killed: a capybara. With its mouth full of blood, it looks at the camera while it bites the kill.''  *This image is copyright of its original author
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