Mountain lion, cougar, puma, panther, catamount, léon, Puma concolor. These are among the many names used to describe this large, lithe, solitary predator that ranges across North and South America. Concolor means “single color” and is meant to describe the uniform coat of adult mountain lions. Those of us who are intimate with them, however, know that mountain lion fur varies from orange-rust to tawny-yellow to slate gray, and that the various hues in a single cat’s coat are too many to count.

Mark Elbroch has been studying mountain lions for more than 20 years, and is a recognized expert on the species. As Director of Panthera’s Puma Program, he is responsible for designing science-based conservation strategies for the species across the Americas. Mark is a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group and the current lead assessor for the IUCN’s 10-year Redlist assessment of puma conservation status.

A complete list of Mark Elbroch’s scientific publications can be found on Google Scholar and  Researchgate.com

Check out the upcoming film, Heart of a Lion, premiering soon.

Click here for mountain lion research in the media.

Kittens born on the Olympic Peninsula in the Pacific Northwest