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Guatemala : flora and fauna |
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Guatemala is a small country which is home to 19 different ecosystems, ranging from the mangrove forests on both Pacific and Caribbean coasts to the pine forests of the mountainous interior, to the cloud forests at higher altitudes and to the sub tropical jungle at lower altitudes. These ecosystems include 250 species of mammals, 600 species of birds and 200 species of reptiles and amphibians, many species of butterflies and other insects... and more than 8,000 species of plants !
Here are some examples of this diversity.
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The Cougar (Puma concolor), also known as the Puma or Mountain Lion, is a mammal of the Felidae family, native to the Americas. This large, solitary cat has the greatest range of any terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere other than humans,[3] extending from Yukon in Canada to the southern Andes of South America. An adaptable, generalist species, the Cougar is found in every major New World habitat type. It is the second heaviest cat in the New World, after the Jaguar, and the fourth heaviest in the world, after the Tiger, Lion, and Jaguar, although it is most closely related to smaller felines.
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A capable stalk-and-ambush predator, the Cougar pursues a wide variety of prey. Its primary food is ungulates such as deer, particularly in the northern part of its range, but it hunts species as small as insects and rodents. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush for stalking, but it can live in open areas. |
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The Cougar is territorial and persists at low population densities. Individual territory sizes depend on terrain, vegetation, and abundance of prey. While it is a large predator, it is not always the dominant species in its range, as when it competes for prey with animals such as the Gray Wolf. It is a reclusive cat and usually avoids people. Attacks on humans remain rare, despite a recent increase in frequency.
Due to persecution as a dangerous pest animal following the European colonization of the Americas, and continuing human development of Cougar habitat, populations have dropped in many parts of its historical range. In particular, the Cougar was extirpated in eastern North America, except an isolated sub-population in Florida; the animal may be recolonizing parts of its former eastern territory. With its vast range, the Cougar has dozens of names and various references in the mythology of the indigenous peoples of the Americas and in contemporary culture.
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| Parts of this text are from Wkipedia |
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