This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

David’s father has three sons.  Two are named Snap and Crackle.  What is the third son’s name?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

The second largest wild cat in the Western Hemisphere is the cougar, which also goes by several names:  puma, mountain lion, panther, jaguar, and catamount.

Here are a few quick facts about the cougar:

• Height (at shoulder):  2-3 feet
• Length (body):  5-8 feet
• Weight:  adult male, 130 pounds; adult female, 100 pounds
• Top Speed:  25-35 miles per hour
• Lifespan:  8-15 years, but some may live 20 years

The cougar’s range extends throughout the western United States and Canada, and all of South America.  This wild cat has proven to be vary adaptable as it is able to live in snow-covered mountains as well as in tropical rainforests.

With its short, coarse coat, long tail, and brownish color, cougars have been widely photographed.  Being a carnivore, its diet might consist of small- to medium-sized mammals such as coyotes and rodents.  While Its favorite prey is deer, cougars may also seek food from domestic livestock:  poultry, sheep, calves, goats, and pigs.

Being a nocturnal, stealth hunter of its prey, cougars are solitary as they stalk each kill.  They generally hunt at dawn or dusk.  Because of their mysterious hunting times, they are sometimes nicknamed ghost cats.  Larger animals may prey upon cougars, such as bears and wolves. 

Generally, females give birth to kittens every other year.  Average size of a litter is three.  The gestation period is about 90-100 days.  Kittens are covered with dark spots, and their banded tails serve as camouflage.  Kittens stay with their mothers for up to two years.  

The physical traits of cougars’ agility and strength are legendary.  Some may be able to leap up to 18 feet from the ground to a tree branch.  Others have been observed covering a length of ground with a single bound of 20-35 feet.

top row:  VARIOUS male cougars.  bottom row:  female with kittens and single spotted kitten (seeming to be posing for the photo).  (Images courtesy of Pinterest)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

David (sorry, he is not nicknamed “Pop”)