How Can I Protect My Pets and Livestock From Mountain Lions?.Where Do Mountain Lions Live in the U.S.?.Are Mountain Lions, Cougars, and Panthers all the Same Animal?.Texans also have names for their lions, including puma as in its taxonomic designation Puma concolor, cougar, panther, and catamount, meaning “cat of the mountain.”' 'In North America, the Spanish call the lion léon de montaña, the Mayans cabcoh and the Guianans tig rouge. 'The names 'Erie' and 'Eriez' are shortened forms of 'Erielhonan,' meaning 'long tail.' The Erielhonan were also called the 'Cat' or the 'Raccoon' people.' 'Puma' comes, via Spanish, from the Quechua language of Peru.'

'Cougar' is borrowed from the Portuguese çuçuarana, via French the term was originally derived from the Tupi language. The cougar holds the world record for the animal with the highest number of names due to its wide distribution across North and South America. In South America, 'panther' refers to both the spotted and black color morphs of the jaguar, while it is also broadly used to refer to the Old World leopard. In North America, 'panther' is used most often to refer the Florida panther sub-population. Other names include catamount, panther, painter because of its black tail tip, and mountain screamer. 'The cougar has numerous names in English, of which puma and mountain lion are popular. Response last updated by Terry on Aug 21 2016. The major difference between the two families is the panthera family’s ability to roar.įelidae cats can not roar, instead make noises such as purrs, hisses, chirps and screams. The cougar is a member of the felidae family, as opposed to the panthera family as of the tiger and lion. Puma is the commonly accepted scientific term.ĭespite their large size, the cougar is not a true “big cat”. The name cougar comes from an old word that South American Indians had which was, cuguacuarana which got shortened to cuguar and was then spelled differently. The name mountain lion comes from the early Spanish explorers who called it ‘gato monte’ which translates to ‘cat of the mountain.’ The name ‘panther’ is a generalised term which refers to a cat with a solid coloured coat which they have. The cougar is known by many names including mountain lion, puma, cougar and panther.

Cougar vs mountain lion