What We Know About Pumas: teacher key

Cougars, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. The cougar, also called the puma, has many names and kinds, an extinct relative, the eastern cougar and the Florida panther. Scientists count and track it, and kittens grow up and leave.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What does the Cat Specialist Group say about puma subspecies?
   • Thirty-two have been described, but only two are now tentatively recognised (answer)
   • Only one has ever been described
   • One hundred have been confirmed
2. What did the 2011 Fish and Wildlife Service review conclude about the eastern cougar subspecies?
   • It lives in every state
   • It has likely been extinct since the 1930s (answer)
   • It is the largest puma
3. As of April 2022, what did the Florida panther population rebound to from an estimated low of 10 animals?
   • Over 20,000
   • About 5
   • Over 200 (answer)
4. The Florida panther counts do not include kittens. What does that tell you?
   • Kittens still dependent on their mothers are left out of the counts (answer)
   • Florida panthers have no kittens
   • Kittens are counted twice
5. What happened to the 12 GPS-collared mountain lions during the early 2020 stay-at-home period?
   • They moved to Chile
   • They used smaller areas and moved shorter distances (answer)
   • They stopped wearing collars
6. What does taxonomy mean?
   • Running fast
   • Hiding
   • Naming and grouping (answer)

Words

• subspecies: a smaller kind
• taxonomy: naming and grouping
• lineage: a family line
• convergence: similar bodies
• subadult: nearly grown
• disperse: spread out