Montana Field Guide

Coat gray to yellowish- or reddish-brown; colors usually deepest along back, with whitish shades on underside; head small and rounded with very short face; eyes set forward on head for sight hunting; ears short and rounded; body long and lithe; tail long, round, black-tipped; adult males weigh 150-190 lbs., females 70-120 lbs. Solitary, except for females accompanied by males or kittens; females den in caves, rock crevices; brush piles, etc. with kittens and leave them there while hunting; usually hunt by stealth at night and cover unused food for later use; males territorial, and large male home ranges may overlap smaller ones of females (FWP). A large cat with an elongate body, powerful limbs, small head, short face, short rounded ears, and long neck and tail; two color phases: buff, cinnamon, and tawny to cinnamon rufous and ferruginous, and silvery gray to bluish and slaty gray; young are buffy with dark spots, and the eyes are blue for the first few months; color of upperparts is most intense midorsally; sides of muzzle and backs of ears are black; underparts are dull whitish with buff wash across the belly; end of tail is dark brown or blackish; adult total length 171-274 cm in males, 150-233 cm in females; adult tail length 53-81 cm; mass 50-103 kg in males, usually 32-60 kg in females; greatest length of skull 172-237 mm in males, 158-203 mm in females (Nowak 1991, Hall 1981, Maehr 1992).

Differs from the jaguarundi in much larger size (maximum total length of jaguarundi is 137 cm). differs from the lynx and bobcat in having a much longer tail (less than 25 cm in bobcat and lynx). differs from other cats in lack of spotting in adult pelage. young mountain lion differs from the ocelot in having the spot not arranged in rows or chainlike streaks. see Hoffmeister (1986) for cranial differences between mountain lion and jaguar.

Non-migratory.

Mostly mountains and foothills, but any habitat with sufficient food, cover and room to avoid humans (FWP). In W MT spring-fall ranges at higher elev than winter areas. Cover types in winter: 42% pole stands, 30% selectively logged (pole or mature), 18% seral brushfields (Murphy 1983). In E. MT apparently uses riparian and breaks (Matthews and Swenson 1982).

Deer, elk, and pocupines most important in Montana, but may take prey ranging in size from grasshoppers to moose (FWP). In Fish Creek Drainage, white-tailed deer appeared to be primary food, followed by elk, mule deer, and snowshoe hare (Murphy 1983). Will prey on porcupines.

Harvest intensity in Fish Creek mostly deter. by snow cond. Road access, hunting pressure & prey base are mgmt concerns. Some areas require more conservative mgmt. than others. In Fish Cr: 4.3 adults/100sq km, 7.1 lions/100sq km (Murphy 1983)

Breed any time, but young most commonly born in May; two to four spotted young born about every 2 years per female; females keep males away from kittens, which may otherwise eat them; females first breed at 2-4 years of age (FWP). In Fish Creek Drainage, litters raised at approximately 2 year intervals. Average 2.6 kittens/litter (Murphy 1983). Kittens may be born any season.