The big wild cats called cougars are also known as puma and panther. Cougars are denizens of areas like dense underbrush and high rocky areas for their hunting. Having predatory prowess, cougars enjoy feasting on small and large-sized animals. These ferocious dietary preferences allow them to hunt animals by surprise attacks. Cougars are therefore carnivores with ungulates making up the majority of their diet. Read on to learn more about “What do cougars eat?”

Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Aro... Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Around

Insects, Animals, and Fish

Their love for feasting on animals, coupled with their hunting skills, allow them to enjoy a varied food opportunity. Wandering around and through trees, cougars search for the prey to attack them. For that reason, cougars are known to be ambush predators because of their stalking behavior. They aim for the neck of the prey to attack and kill them off completely.

Typically, cougars eat deer, moose, bison, squirrels, mice, rodents, and other animals. In addition to these, cougars eat birds, domestic cats, and dead animals. That is because they bury their uneaten dead animals and their leftovers to consume later. Similarly, cougars eat fish as well, but to some extent only. As for insects, cougars may or may not eat insects as they usually like bulky animals for feed.

Fruit, Vegetables, and Plants

Not so surprisingly, the diet of cougars consists of mammals, especially deer. Hence, you’ll hardly find cougars foraging on vegetation or grass for that matter. That is because of the abundant amount of food sources available in the wild. Hence, cougars don’t eat fruit, vegetables, or plants.

What cougars don’t eat?

Cougars have  the ability to attack humans and other animals, but they might not consume them. That said, cougars don’t eat bobcats, elephants, turtles, penguins, and bald eagles. Apart from these, cougars don’t eat plants, apples, or caterpillars.