puma

[Probably of native origin, but introduced into European literature by early Spanish writers on South America.] Zool.: Felis concolor , the couguar of the French, the leon of the South Americans, and the panther or "painter" of the trappers. It is the largest feline of the New World, measuring forty inches from the nose to root of tail, which is about twenty inches more; the head is small, mane absent; general color of upper surface tawny yellowish-brown, varying in intensity in different individuals; lower parts of the body and inner surface of limbs dirty white. The young, when born, are spotted with brown, and the tail is ringed. The puma is destructive, and slays far more than it can eat, but rarely, if ever, attacks man, and may be tamed with little difficulty. Edmund Kean had one which followed him about like a dog. It ranges from Canada to Patagonia, being most numerous in the forest districts of Central America.