Felis Concolor

Since Apple just rolled out it's new OS X Mountain Lion I thought now would be a perfect time to do a post on mountain lions.  Side note I want to say that I LOVE that Apple names it's OS after cats, my OS is so old I have house cat, an upgrade is in order.



This little guy is adorable right?  He doesn't even have his teeth yet and is totally snuggle worthy!  Well this snugly little guy grows up to be...

Mountain Lion, a photo by soul_scorpio7 on Flickr.


This big guy!  Hisssssss.........
 
Who pissed him off?




So our dear friend the mountain lion or as some know it as a puma, cougar, or catamount.  Now this is a big kitty weighing about 130lbs, and judging from the picture above a nasty bite!

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
 

I have this weird fascination/terror for these animals.  Ever since there were these rampant attacked out in CA on hikers and bikers a few years ago that made the news I secretly fear I'm going to be attacked by one.  Can you imagine this huge creature leaping on you!  I have also see 2 attack stories on "I survived' on A&E and I was GLUED to the television.  So according to the "I Survived" story and from what I see in my domestic cats is that cats big or small aren't like some other animals where you can scare them away or fight them off easily.  The more you fight the more pissed off they get, try it sometime, preferably with the smaller version for your own safety :)

I think these cats scare me so much because out of all of the animals in the world this is one that I would be most likely to get eaten by.  I don't think I'm that picky about how I die but I don't think I want to get eaten.  I know that's kinda crazy esp since we don't even have mountain lions here in MA not to mention I live in the city and apparently I'm more likely to get attacked by a shark swimming in Truro, MA.  However you have to go into the water to get attacked I don't surf or swim by seals also sharks attacks are a result of mistaken identity, they don't want to eat us.  A mountain lion on the other hand is intentionally stalking and attacking you with the full purpose to eat you for dinner!!  

So I guess when I visit my friend out in sunny CA I should keep a knife and pepper spray handy even if I'm on the busy streets, you NEVER know!!!

 Mountain Lion Range in light yellow            
           
 source: National Geographic