She's a COUGAR? No, she's not. She's a mountain lion, and while they may look the same, there is a world of difference between the two. It may not be all that easy to detect, and the fact that people interchange the words without thinking and without actually knowing the subtle differences, the cougar and the mountain lion are often mistaken for the other one both in the wild, and even in nature parks where one has been captured for the sake of observation and study. This is both incredibly sad and hurtful when you think about it. If I taught your kid that it was OK to misspell a word just because I didn't want to take the time to spell it correctly, would that be on me or you for not stopping me? (I'm thinking of words like "there", "their", and "they're" or maybe "your" and "you're". Cougars are smaller than mountain lions, thank you very much. They are a different shade of brown (tawny) and they have darker facial features, often smaller heads, and they are simply smaller by nearly 40%; they are not mountain lions. Another really big difference between the two would be geography. Mountain lions are found in North America, ranging from Canada to Florida, whereas the cougar is an animal from South America and yes, also around the border areas. Why am I telling you all this? Read on, please.
My daughter Laura loves it when she can teach me something and she decided to use a quiz she found online to do just that. "Hey Mom," she cried as I was minding my own business studying for another stock broker exam. "Yeah, what?" came the answer. "Think of an animal, and tell me what you would want to be if you were one...an animal". I thought about it, and I said the obvious answer, a dog. A dog, OK, yeah, a dog. I am thinking of a dog, I would want to be a dog, so I said a dog. "A dog is good", she added, and then "OK, God didn't make dogs, so now pick another animal if He decided there were no dogs." I thought for a second, and knowing me, if you know me, you know I love my horses, so I said with almost no surprise in my voice, "I'd be a horse I guess". Her answer, "Oh hey, good answer, and yeah, I can see that." She continued, "OK, but God decided there were no more horses, so pick a third animal you think you would like to be." I said the mountain lion, and she came back with "Like a cougar?" WHAT? NO...I didn't say a cougar, I said a mountain lion!
She said she didn't see the difference, and it didn't matter for the quiz. She went on to tell me that according to the experts who came up with the quiz I see myself as being a dog, while the world sees me as being more like a horse. In reality, if the truth was known, I was actually a mountain lion. She then read off the characters of the cougar and I stopped her. STOP. "Stop Laura, not a cougar, I said a mountain lion, and there is a difference. Lots of differences in fact." She said the test or quiz didn't have mountain lion characteristics but it did have the cougar so she was going with that. According to Wikipedia, because it does list the characteristics of mountain cats vs the jungled lower lands type cougar, the mountain lion is a nearly perfect predator. It only kills for food, never for sport, and it stalks, observes, researches, understands, studies, and learns the habits of its prey before striking. The cougar strikes and will strike out of fear or for territorial rights. The mountain lion will roam to hunt and will rehome itself rather than be held captive by its environment. THAT is the difference I wanted to make clear to my daughter.
People say "regular lions" this and that, but there is no regular lion. What they are saying is an African lion will do this or that; and I get that. The coyote and the wolf are two canine for sure, but they are worlds part when it comes to looks, actions, behaviors, habits, family, socializing; everything. The mountain lion is a loner of sorts, you don't see packs of them. You see one, if you see one. They are stealth and quite capable of watching from a far without any intent of coming near; only observing. They are intrigued, genuinely interested in their surroundings and capable of going days without eating to learn more about their future meals and their resting habits. It's essential for the mountain lion to know what its getting itself into; it won't pounce on anything it can't take for itself, and it will never take more than what it needs. They do not kill for sport. If they have cubs they will kill something larger such as a deer, but for the most part they take smaller animals for themselves.
I didn't know the test would be about comparing my personal life and my personality traits with that of an animal. You're not supposed to know that fact, you're supposed to speak from your heart, from you soul. I did that. I see myself as a loyal friend, a good natured person (dog) who will kill or die for its person or for its friend. I see myself as being attached to things and people, but in reality, I'm really not. I'm loyal, absolutely, but I am not attached. I have reasons to roam now, and I will roam. As for the horse, well, that's how others see me. They see me as being strong, willful, free, wild, even strong headed and stubborn, but able to be wrangled and tamed if necessary. But then...well, then there's the truth of it all. I am out there roaming, hiding, watching, thinking, learning, deciding if and when I will pounce, or if I will simply watch for now. I think I find it fascinating that I knew in my core that I wanted to say an American animal. That was never part of the question or expected criteria. I choose an American animal all three times really - - in my mind I chose a mutt, not a purebred dog like a German Shepherd or a Labrador Retriever. I was thinking more of a Pit Bull mixed with a larger terrier type, maybe throw in a little Dachshund for the hell of it because I do think of myself as being a bad ass sometimes. The horse? Oh, that's easy, the American Mustang. There is no other.
So yeah, it matters. When you think of an animal, when you think of a friend, when you think of your family, and when you think of yourself, remember we are all multi-faceted, multi-layered and we have so many differences and sides to us. At times I could be considered an eagle type bird too; but not an American Bald Eagle. No, I wouldn't want that sort of fame and glory (or pressure). I would have to be more like the red-tailed hawk in Oklahoma; a predator for sure, a hunter, a protector, and again, a loner of sorts. The mountain lion? Sure, I can see me as being one of them. I prefer a little meat on my bones anyway -- and I do like to watch before I pounce. I'm really good at watching. I'm pretty patient too. Very willing to wait. (Her head down, crouched behind a rock, panting, thinking, gently twitching her tail; no one sees her but she sees them.) God knows what He's doing.
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