Cougar Country: teacher key

Cougars, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. The cougar has many names and a range from Canada to Chile. It is also the Florida panther, and it stalks, roams and raises kittens.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. As of April 2022, what had the Florida panther population rebounded to from an estimated low of 10 animals?
   • Over 200 (answer)
   • Over 20,000
   • About 5
2. How far do female young cougars disperse from where they were born?
   • 1 to 2 km
   • 9 to 140 km (answer)
   • More than 2,000 km
3. How many deer per year did collared female pumas take on average in the Santa Cruz Mountains study?
   • About 7
   • About 600
   • 67 (answer)
4. In California, males have territories up to 500 square miles and females up to 300. What does that tell you?
   • A male's territory can be larger than a female's (answer)
   • Males never leave home
   • Females have no territories
5. Which of these can a cougar do?
   • Roar like a lion
   • Leap about 18 feet straight up (answer)
   • Fly short distances
6. What does disperse mean?
   • Hunt alone
   • Sleep by day
   • Spread out (answer)

Words

• solitary: alone
• stalks: sneaks up
• ambushes: springs out
• territories: animal's areas
• disperse: spread out
• Endangered: in danger