How to Identify Mountain Lion in Louisiana

A mountain lion is a large predator that weighs 100 to 200 pounds with a body length of 5 to 7 feet, not including a 2 to 3 foot tail. A bobcat, the largest wild cat in Louisiana, weighs only 15 to 25 pounds and measures 2 to 4 feet in body length. If you see a wild cat in Louisiana, size alone can rule out a mountain lion. A mountain lion would be roughly the size of an adult human or larger, while a bobcat is smaller than most adult dogs.

A mountain lion has small, rounded ears positioned on the sides of its head. Its face is lean with a long snout, and its pupils are round like a house cat. A bobcat has the distinctive tufted ears that stick up like brushes on the tips, and its face appears stockier and shorter. A bobcat also has facial markings that include tufts of hair on its cheeks and a shorter muzzle. These face and ear differences are visible from a distance and are the quickest way to tell the two apart if you see a large cat.

Mountain lions are uniformly tan, brown, or grayish-brown with no spots or stripes on their bodies as adults. The belly is slightly lighter. Young mountain lions have spots that fade as they mature. A bobcat is gray or reddish-brown with dark streaks, spots, and a distinctive striped face. The underside of a bobcat's tail has white spots. If the cat you see has visible spots or stripes, you are looking at a bobcat, not a mountain lion.

A mountain lion has a long, thick tail that is about one-third of its total body length and is tipped with black on top. This tail is held low and is a distinctive feature. A bobcat has a short, stubby tail that is often held upright, with a black stripe on top and white spots underneath. The tail difference is so pronounced that a mountain lion and bobcat would never be confused if the tail is visible.

Mountain lions have long, slender legs built for stalking and running down large prey. Their body is sleek and muscular. A bobcat appears more stocky and compact, with shorter proportions built for climbing and pouncing. Mountain lions have a straight back line, while bobcats appear somewhat hunched or crouched. A mountain lion's paw prints are much larger, showing four toe pads arranged in an arc with no claw marks, whereas a bobcat's prints are smaller.

Mountain lions are mostly silent but can produce loud, spine-chilling screams or yowls, especially during mating season. These sounds are often mistaken for human screams and have alarmed many people. Bobcats are also generally quiet but hiss, growl, or produce a loud 'mew' or crying sound when distressed or seeking mates. If you hear a large cat sound in Louisiana, a bobcat is the only wild cat that would be responsible, since mountain lions do not live here.

Bobcats live throughout Louisiana in forests, swamps, brushy areas, and even suburban edges. They are nocturnal and rarely seen, but they are the only wild cat established in the state. Bobcats are found in both the pine forests of North Louisiana and the bottomland hardwoods and cypress swamps of the south. Unlike mountain lions, which require vast territories, bobcats are adaptable and can thrive in Louisiana's diverse habitats.

Theoretically, a very rare young male mountain lion from the small wild population in Florida could wander north and cross into Georgia or South Carolina, but no wild mountain lion population exists close enough to Louisiana for this to happen. Any such sighting in Georgia or South Carolina would be a vagrant, and even then it would be extremely rare. Louisiana's distance from any wild mountain lion territory makes such an event in the state virtually impossible.

First, look again. It is far more likely to be a misidentified dog, outdoor cat, or bobcat. If you took a photo, examine it for bobcat ear tufts, spots, or stripes. Compare your sighting to the size and color of animals you know. If you are confident in your sighting, contact the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to report it, providing a detailed description and location. Wildlife agencies take all reports seriously and investigate them, but most 'mountain lion sightings' turn out to be other animals.

Mountain lions were once distributed across North America, including Louisiana, but European settlement and hunting eliminated them from most of their range by the early 1900s. In Louisiana, habitat loss to agriculture and settlement, combined with active hunting, eliminated the native cougar population by the late 1800s. A small population survives today only in remote parts of Florida and the western United States. Louisiana's landscape now supports different predators adapted to forests, swamps, and wetlands, and bobcats have filled much of the ecological role that mountain lions once occupied.