Difference between cougar and mountain lion

The mandible is short, deep, and powerfully constructed. The rostrum and the nasal bones are broad. The retractile claws are sharp and curved. The pollex is small and set above the other digits.

The feet are broad, with four digits on hind feet and five on forefeet. The tail is long, cylindrical, and about one-third of the animal's total length. The eyes of mature animals are grayish brown to golden. The muzzle stripes, the area behind ears, and the tip of tail are black.

Mountain lions have a pinkish nose with a black border that extends to the lips. The general coloration ranges from a yellowish brown to grayish brown on the upper parts and a paler, almost buffy, color on the belly. The pelage has a short and coarse texture. Dense vegetation, caves, and rocky crevices provide shelter. Mountain lions use a wide variety of habitats including montane coniferous forests, lowland tropical forests, grassland, dry brush country, swamps, and any areas with adequate cover and prey. Mountain lion sightings in eastern North America, outside of southern Florida, are still more likely to be escaped or abandoned 'pet' mountain lions or other large cats. Mountain lions are now fairly common in suburban areas of California and have recently been sighted as far east as urban Kansas City, Missouri, where several have been hit by cars. In recent years populations have begun to expand into areas of human habitation, especially in the western United States. Populations in eastern North America were entirely exterminated, except for a small population of Florida panthers ( Puma concolor coryi). Extermination efforts, hunting pressure, and habitat destruction have restricted their range to relatively mountainous, unpopulated areas throughout much of their range. They ranged from coast to coast in North America, and from southern Argentina and Chile to southeastern Alaska. Historically, mountain lions had the most extensive distribution of all American terrestrial mammals.

Difference between cougar and mountain lion