Context

• Pumas, have an ability to assess their surrounding terrain and accordingly use a suitable walking gait to conserve energy, a new study has shown.
• The areas that these animals move into, force them to use more energy and cause declines in their populations.

Back to Basics

• Also known as mountain lions or cougars.
• The cats travel more slowly while ascending or descending mountains to conserve energy.
• The puma is the top feline predator in the Americas, along with the jaguar.
• Native range is diminishing due to increasing agriculture and urbanisation.
• Puma habitat in California is predicted to diminish 35 per cent by 2030.
• IUCN-Least Concern