# Why is "mountain lion" preferred over "cougar"?". **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2012, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447 "2012-03-11T06:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/1 "2012-03-11T06:35:52Z")
As far as I can tell “cougar” is a well understood and unambiguous common term for _Puma concolor_, but the media and nature officials seem to prefer “mountain lion”. Why? Not only is “mountain lion” longer, it’s doubly misleading. It there some other animal called a “cougar” that would be confused with _Puma concolor_? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/2 "2012-03-11T07:23:03Z")
It’s scarier. Scarier sells more papers. There’s also puma, catamount, and a couple other terms used for the beastie. But Cougar is now used a lot as a term for older women who prefer younger guys, and Puma is a trademarked name for running shoes. So, cougar & puma could be misunderstood in a headline. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/3 "2012-03-11T08:08:51Z")
A lot of people get savaged by running shoes. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/4 "2012-03-11T10:04:00Z")
Where do you live? I think your local media might be reflecting the local term. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/5 "2012-03-11T10:26:23Z")
Is “panther” a different animal? I’d always thought that was yet another synonym for “mountain lion,” at least the Texas variety. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/6 "2012-03-11T10:53:48Z")
I believe a panther is a melanistic leopard. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/7 "2012-03-11T10:55:38Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Is “panther” a different animal? I’d always thought that was yet another synonym for “mountain lion,” at least the Texas variety. There is no such thing as a panther. The genus _panthera_ refers to lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars; colloquially, any black-coated individuals of the above species, as well as black mountain lions, are referred to as “panthers”. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/8 "2012-03-11T11:25:36Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > A lot of people get savaged by running shoes. That’s a classic example of reasoning from a Converse! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/9 "2012-03-11T11:40:30Z")
Hopefully \*\*EdwardLost \*\*won’t mind if I add a tangential question about large cats. (?) We occasionally see cougars on our hunting lease, usually after sitting quietly on a stand for a few hours. I and several other hunters have seen a black one slinking past on occasion. The sightings are rare (maybe once per year) but enough have seen it that we’re sure it’s there, and not a trick of the light nor overactive imaginations. Where would a black one come from? All the others are the normal brown color. Is it possible that for some genetic reason, a black one just happened? For those reading my location, the lease is in another state with a confirmed cougar population. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/10 "2012-03-11T12:31:10Z")
I agree that it may be regional. When one was found in Chicago a few years back, [the local press called it a cougar](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-04-15/news/0804140895_1_cougar-illinois-north-side). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/11 "2012-03-11T12:39:24Z")
America’s big cat is the [_Puma concolor_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar). All the other names are folklore, changing with time & region. > [@](#): > > It is the second heaviest cat in the Western Hemisphere, after the jaguar. Although large, the cougar is most closely related to smaller felines and is closer genetically to the domestic cat than to true lions. OK, the jaguars are bigger. But less widely found… Meow! The [panther of ancient bestiaries](http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast79.htm) is quite a different creature. > [@](#): > > The panther is a gentle beast; only the dragon is its enemy. It is a beautiful, multicolored animal; its coat is spotted with white or black disks. After the panther has feasted, it goes into a cave and sleeps for three days. When it wakes up it gives a loud roar, and while it is roaring a sweet odor comes out of its mouth. Any animal that hears the roar follows the sweet smell to reach the panther. Only the dragon stays away, hiding in a hole because it is afraid of the panther. The female panther can only give birth once, because the young in her womb tear at her with their claws, wounding her so that she can no longer conceive. It’s fun to play with words! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/12 "2012-03-11T12:46:37Z")
If called by a panther, Don’t anther. – Ogden Nash ---
**Author:** ![ChickenLegs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@ChickenLegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickenLegs)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/13 "2012-03-11T13:49:11Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Hopefully \*\*EdwardLost \*\*won’t mind if I add a tangential question about large cats. (?) > > We occasionally see cougars on our hunting lease, usually after sitting quietly on a stand for a few hours. I and several other hunters have seen a black one slinking past on occasion. The sightings are rare (maybe once per year) but enough have seen it that we’re sure it’s there, and not a trick of the light nor overactive imaginations. > > Where would a black one come from? All the others are the normal brown color. Is it possible that for some genetic reason, a black one just happened? > > For those reading my location, the lease is in another state with a confirmed cougar population. “Its fur is a light, tawny brown color which can appear gray or almost black, depending on light conditions.Contrary to popular belief, there are no black panthers in North America; no one has ever captured or killed a black Mountain Lion.” [http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/mlion/](http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/mlion/) If you’re seeing a large black cat, it is almost surely not a mountain lion. ---
**Author:** ![Batfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Batfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batfish)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/14 "2012-03-11T14:20:58Z")
Wikipedia prefers cougar. [Cougar - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar) It seems to me that puma is most correct, since that’s part of its taxonomic classification. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/15 "2012-03-11T15:28:03Z")
They are typically called Mountain Lions in California. “Panther” is a more common term in Florida, but it doesn’t need to be black. “Cougar” may be the closest to the scientific name, but I rarely hear anyone use that term in CA. It may be more common in the Mountain West (like CO or WY), but I’m not really sure. And in South America, they are usually called “Pumas”. Still, they area all the same species. There is no such thing as a “correct” term. It’s whatever people call them locally. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/16 "2012-03-11T15:33:24Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > America’s big cat is the [_Puma concolor_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar). All the other names are folklore, changing with time & region. Folklore? How can a single name be folklore? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/17 "2012-03-11T16:13:36Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > If called by a panther, > Don’t anther. > > – Ogden Nash Don’t make me break out my pistil… ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/18 "2012-03-11T16:37:03Z")
Some sport items manufacturers prefer _Puma_ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/19 "2012-03-11T17:03:12Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Don’t make me break out my pistil… That would be a pithtal. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447/20 "2012-03-11T18:05:48Z")
Anybody else remember Tom Smothers “Sure looks like a **puma**!” . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-mountain-lion-preferred-over-cougar/615447.md?page=2)