The Cat of Forty Names: teacher key

Cougars, grade 6 edition, written for 6th grade. The cougar has about 40 English names, and it lives from Canada to Chile. Read about its body, its senses, how it hunts and how kittens grow up.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. About how many English names have been listed for the cougar?
   • About 4
   • About 40 (answer)
   • About 400
2. Where was the eastern cougar last recorded?
   • In Maine, in 1938 (answer)
   • In Chile, in 1990
   • In Florida, in 2020
3. A cougar sees better than people in dim light. What does that tell you?
   • It sees well when there is little light (answer)
   • It cannot see at all
   • It only sees in bright sun
4. What can a cougar NOT do?
   • Purr
   • Growl
   • Roar (answer)
5. How big is a typical cougar litter?
   • Two to four kittens (answer)
   • Twenty kittens
   • One kitten
6. What does a young cougar find after it leaves its mother?
   • A territory of its own (answer)
   • A new set of spots
   • A den in a zoo

Words

• prey: hunted animals
• ambushes: springs out
• stalks: sneaks up
• territory: an animal's area
• litter: kittens born together
• catamount: a cougar