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Old 01-12-2005, 12:27   #11
Chris
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Re: The beast of Baglan

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anonymouse
BTW: the article says, "We have been told it is not a puma but either a mountain lion or a lynx." Oh, good grief. A 'mountain lion' is a puma. So much for these 'experts'.
Mountain lion, puma and cougar are three names for the same animal (though there are several more) - the name varies with the cat's native region: puma in South America, cougar in the western states of North America, mountain lion in and around California. The photo is definitely not of a puma, but a lynx - smaller, native to more wintery climes such as Canada, but no less beautiful.
Actually, that's not so stupid as it sounds. Even if they are essentially the same animal, there will be subtle genetic differences between the South African and North American animals. So it is reasonable for the 'experts', on the basis of DNA tests on the hairs, to be able to rule out 'puma' but not be able to say whether it's a lynx or mountain lion - presumably genetic differences between the North American varieties are less noticeable due to the possibility of interbreeding.
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