#mountain lions

[big-catsss]

(by Octavio Campos Salles)

[bent-rod]

Magnificent Mountain Lion!

[too-hot-to-hoot]

Fully grown big cats that are just as cute as their cubs

[madmanswords]

If I ever get eaten by a mountain lion, I hope everyone remembers me in my most positive light: irresistibly flavorful to mountain lions

[buckhead1111]

buckhead1111

[moonbeams-in-a-jar]

Little wild cat cubs and kittens. Which baby is your favorite?

[animalsandanimals]

[sick-sad-little-world]

📦BIG CATS like boxes, too!📦

[calico-dan]

If mountain lions could see how much we love and kiss their little house cousins everyday then surely they'd let us love and kiss them too

[feather-bone]

Cougar!

[ID: an illustration of a mountain lion leaping to the right, looking alert and with its claws out. It is on a mottled purple background with stylized white grasses. End.]

[big-catsss]

(by thomas_weder)

[bent-rod]

“Reflection” - Cougar

[jadeseadragon]

Vida de Pumas by Felipe Román @fotosafaritorresdelpaine

[leoparduscolocola]

One thing that’s been really interesting to me lately is how names for animals develop and change over time and vary depending on where you live, so I thought I’d make this poll about one of my favorite species:

[hclib]

Resident Mountain Lion

With the sad news this week about the death of the cougar travelling through Minneapolis, here is a bit of the story of a much earlier cougar to find itself in Minneapolis. In June 1899, the Minneapolis Tribune reported that the park board had purchased a mountain lion, cinnamon bear, and "various kinds of foxes and tropical birds" to add to its growing zoo at Minnehaha Park. The park board bought the animals from "a stranded showman" for $325. This was the first mountain lion to live at a Minneapolis zoo.

The Minnehaha zoo that awaited the new mountain lion contained everything from moose and elk to alligators and sea lions. Started informally in the early years of the park, the zoo was such a favored attraction among park visitors that park officials continued to add animals. While the deer, moose, and elk could endure the snow and ice outside at Minnehaha Park, most other animals -- including the mountain lion -- were moved to enclosed barns for the winter.

Despite the popularity of the zoo, some questioned its place in Minnehaha Falls and the confined quarters of the animals. When Theodore Wirth took the reins as Superintendent of Parks, he got the park board out of the zoo business. While a few of the animals -- deer, elk, and bears, for instance -- remained in at Minnehaha Park until the 1920s, most of the other animals moved down the road to the new Longfellow Gardens in 1907. R. F. Jones, the owner of Longfellow Gardens, added other cougars to the zoo over the years, and three mountain lion cubs were even born at the zoo in 1926. Longfellow Gardens closed in the 1930s.

Excerpt from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Annual Report, 1899. Proceedings and annual reports from the park board are now fully searchable in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

World building stuff Yay! Note that the only really sapient creatures in WCR are cats, humans, raccoons, wolves, and owls. Nothing else. Also, that the wildlife in WCR is going to be a mix of UK and Canadian wildlife.

Other Animals:

Possums: Not a threat, but also not really prey unless things are dire. Most common in Shadowclan territory but some have been known to end up in other areas. They are treated as caretakers of the land, eating crowfood and ticks. Basically, don't bully the janitors.

Foxes: Not that big but dangerous. They aren't sapient, but they are known to enjoy hunting purely for sport. Referencing but ultimately removing Midnight's line "all fox-talk is of kill". Their bites can easily get infected but they don't (usually) attack on site, only if a cat is stealing its "kill", if their babies are involved. Unfortunately, it is easy to set off a fox, and even a young one's bite is dangerous.

Badgers: Still pretty big creatures because I cannot get over the thought/image of huge badgers, and still dangerous. Not always an attack on site situation, but they are extremely territorial. A single Badger chased by a herd of Boars is what happens during the horrible attack in Twilight.

Boars: Large, extremely dangerous, they will attack on site. Tigerclaw saved Darkpaw (Darkstripe) from a boar on their first day out of camp together. They can be hunted, but it is not common whatsoever. Cherryshine (Dustpelt and Ravenpaw's sister) managed to take down a boar during her apprenticeship, giving her a warrior name early. Violet Dawn is the beginning of Boar Hunting, and is often prayed to before a hunt.

Bears: More of a Lake threat than a Forest one, and they aren't common. They do not attack unless given reason too, and it is not a fight a cat can win. Best course of action is to run and keep running.

Wolves: Language barrier isn't great but cats are not on a wolf's menu. There is peace amongst the 2 species even though communication is hard. A group in the mountains gets along very well with The Tribe of Rushing Water, The Tribe of Snowy Peaks, and The Tribe of Hollow Valley, since they don't see the cats as a threat to them.

Mountain Lions: Under any normal circumstances, not dangerous. Sharptooth is not a natural creature, and certainly not normal circumstances!

Deer: Depends on what kind! Red deer are not to be messed with, they're too big. Fallow deer are hunted sometimes but need very strong cats to do so. Their pelts are dried in the sun and used in nests. These cats are smarter than Canon. (The Tribe/Tribes however do not usually hunt them unless it is absolutely necessary. They hunt other animals, Fallow deer belong to the Mountain Lions). Muntjac deer are VERY commonly hunted, especially by Windclan. Water deer are hunted rarely by Riverclan, and one is caught during the Beaver Patrol.

Raccoons: Not normally dangerous! Raccoons speak a little and can be chatted with, but their teeth are dangerously sharp and their bites can get infected fast. Packs of them can be persuaded into helping, which is what Darktail does to Skyclan with Sharpclaw's help.

Owls: Can be dangerous if small kittens are about, hence why most families will not go on camping trips until a kitten is 1.5 moons old. There is 0 communication between Owls and Cats, only Owls and Wolves. ;)

A desperately hungry owl is a much worse threat, they will attack a fully grown cat or steal prey. Ambermoon is a victim of an Owl attack, and while she did manage to bring it down and kill it, it left her with some scars on her back and shoulders.