The word cougar comes from the Portuguese term çuçuarana, which traces back to the Tupi language of Brazil. English speakers eventually settled on the modern spelling after John Ray adopted a form in 1693 and Georges-Louis Leclerc modified it to cuguar in 1774.
Carl Linnaeus proposed Felis concolor as the scientific name for a long-tailed cat from Brazil in 1771. William Jardine later placed the animal into the genus Puma in 1834.
Adult male cougars average around 190 centimeters from nose to tail tip while females measure about 150 centimeters. Males generally weigh between 53 and 100 kilograms depending on geographic location whereas females typically weigh between 42 and 80 kilograms.
Ungulates like mule deer and white-tailed deer make up 68% of prey items found in North American surveys. In Alberta during winter months ungulates accounted for over 99% of the cougar diet.
Between 1890 and 1990 there were 53 confirmed attacks on humans resulting in 48 nonfatal injuries and 10 deaths within North America. Children represent 64% of all victims and almost all fatalities according to research conducted before 1991.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as Least Concern since 2008. California protects cougars under the Wildlife Protection Act passed in 1990 while hunting remains legal in western United States regions.