From the Book Cougars are strange and interesting creatures. They are among the most successful and to their prey the most for-midable beasts of rapine in the world. Yet when themselves attacked they are the least dangerous of all beasts of prey, except hyenas. Their every, movement is so lithe and stealthy, they move with such sinuous and noiseless caution, and are such past masters in the art of concealment, that they are hardly ever seen unless roused by dogs. In the wilds, they occasionally wapiti, and often bighorn sheep and white goats, but their favorite prey is the deer. . . . We came across the bodies of a number of deer that had been killed by cougars. Generally the remains were in such condition that we could not see how the killing had been done. In one or two cases the carcasses were sufficiently fresh for us to examine carefully. One doe had claw marks on her face, but no fang marks on the head or neck: apparently the neck had been broken by her own plunging fall, then the cougar had bitten a hole in the flank and eaten part of one haunch: but it had not disemboweled its prey, as an African lion would have done. . . . Cougars are solitary beasts. When full-grown the females outnumber the males about three to one; and the sexes stay together for only a few days at mating-time. . . Keywords: A Book-Lover’s Holidays in the Open, Theodore Roosevelt, Cougar, Wapiti, Bighorn Sheep, Nature, Afircan Lion,

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