With a range spanning from Canada’s boreal forests and Arctic tundra all the way to the steppes of southern Chile, the puma – also known as the cougar and mountain lion – has the widest distribution of any terrestrial mammal in the New World.
It may vie with the leopard for the title of ‘fourth largest cat’, but in a hypothetical meeting of all big cats, the puma would probably only defer to the biggest three – the jaguar, lion and tiger.
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Until recently, a far more suitable name for this adaptable cat was ‘ghost’, because confirmed sightings were extremely rare.
But in Patagonia – and more specifically in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park – efforts by the conservation community and the resulting boost from ecotourism have put an end to the cat’s ghostly epithet in spectacular fashion.
With a hunting Patrolling Torres del Paine strategy that depends upon stealth, the dun-coloured puma is a master of camouflage in environments typical of Patagonia, which consist mostly of open and yet frequently broken terrain.
Pumas are largely solitary by nature and possess huge home ranges, so tendto be sparsely distributed, even in areas considered prime habitat. So, for potential puma spotters, the key to making your ‘long shot’ decidedly shorter is to understand the ecology of the puma, and to use the skills of trackers. These guides are not only familiar with the life histories of the best known individuals, but are well-versed in endlessly scanning for animals hidden in the landscape or at least detecting signs of their presence.
Pumas are mainly active at dawn and dusk, so early starts and late finishes will increase your chances of an encounter, while insider knowledge of sighting hotspots will narrow down your search field. In Torres del Paine, for example, most tracking is carried out along the park’s eastern border, within a triangle created by Laguna Armaga and the Sarmiento and Nordenskjöld Lakes.
Watching guanacos – the puma’s preferred prey – and learning to read their behaviour is key to a sighting. These wild relatives of the llama are far better at detecting hidden pumas than we are, because their survival depends on it.
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Guanaco herds frequently place a ‘sentinel’ on a vantage point to look out for danger while the remainder of the herd are quietly grazing. When a puma is spotted, the sentinel emits a loud alarm call that sounds like a high-pitched bleat. This signals that the puma’s cover has been blown and hugely hinders its chance of snaring a meal.
It also helps any human onlookers to pinpoint the cat’s position. Roughly one in five hunts are successful – not only are guanacos larger and faster than pumas, but they are able to defend themselves with a vicious kick. But when it does happen, a kill is an unforgettable event to witness.
Like all stalk-and-ambush predators, the puma is adept at using the terrain to its advantage. Having painstakingly advanced to within 15–20m of its quarry, the hunter erupts from its hiding place in a lightning attack. It sprints to catch up with and overpower its prey, finally incapacitating it with a bite to the head or neck.
As guanacos can top the scales at more than 100kg, a kill won’t be consumed in one sitting, and any leftovers are carefully cached.
Research has shown that pumas, along with other solitary cats, have the highest kill-rates among all carnivores, capable of catching twice the amount of food they need. This ‘surplus’ effectively operates as an insurance policy against any kills stolen by rival predators.
There is no doubt that the scavengers that share the puma’s territory, such as the culpeo fox and Andean condor, hugely benefit from its ruthless efficiency – a captivating cat that can punch well above its weight.
