Mountain Lion

Puma concolor

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Tikal National Park

2 Verified sightings at Tikal National Park From 2019 to 2026

604 Verified sightings across all 68 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Mountain Lion

The cougar ( KOO-gər; Puma concolor), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount, and panther, is a large feline native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild, terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere, and one of the most widespread in the world. Its range spans Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, the Rocky Mountains and areas in the western United States. Further south, its range extends through Mexico to the Amazon rainforest and the southern Andes Mountains in Patagonia. It is an adaptable generalist species, occurring in most American habitat types. It prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking but also lives in open areas.

The cougar is largely solitary. Its activity pattern varies from diurnality and cathemerality to crepuscularity and nocturnality between protected and non-protected areas, and is apparently correlated with the presence of other predators, prey species, livestock and humans. It is an ambush predator that pursues a wide variety of prey. Ungulates, particularly deer, are its primary prey, but it also hunts rodents. It is territorial and lives at low population densities. Individual home ranges depend on terrain, vegetation and abundance of prey. While large, it is not always the dominant apex predator in its range, yielding prey to other predators. It is reclusive and mostly avoids people. Fatal attacks on humans are rare but increased in North America as more people entered cougar habitat and built farms.

The cougar is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Intensive hunting following European colonization of the Americas and ongoing human development into cougar habitat has caused populations to decline in most parts of its historical range. In particular, the eastern cougar population is considered to be mostly locally extinct in eastern North America since the early 20th century, with the exception of the isolated Florida panther subpopulation. Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Panthera onca

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC Endemic

Nasua narica

Daily sighting probability ~90% · Very likely

LC Endemic

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Potos flavus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Torres del Paine National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	~70%
2	El Impenetrable National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~30%
3	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	~20%
4	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~20%
5	Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
6	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
7	Tambopata National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	~10%
8	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
9	Zion National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
10	Yasuní National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~10%
11	Grand Teton National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
12	Big Bend National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
13	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	~10%
14	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
15	Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve	🇪🇨 Ecuador	~10%
16	Iguaçu National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	~10%
17	Banff National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~10%
18	Saguaro National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
19	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
20	Redwood National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
21	Iguazú National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~10%
22	Yosemite National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
23	Glacier National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
24	Joshua Tree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
25	Manu National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	~10%
26	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
27	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
28	Serra dos Órgãos National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
29	Emas National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
30	Serra da Canastra National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
31	El Triunfo	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
32	Amboró National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	Insufficient data
33	Guadalupe Mountains National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
34	Madidi National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	Insufficient data
35	Chingaza National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
36	Chapada Diamantina National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
37	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
38	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
39	Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park	🇨🇱 Chile	Insufficient data
40	Rocky Mountain National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
41	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	Insufficient data
42	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
43	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
44	Death Valley National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
45	Volcán Barú National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
46	Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
47	Nahuel Huapi National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	Insufficient data
48	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
49	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
50	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
51	Chirripó National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
52	Yellowstone National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
53	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
54	Badlands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
55	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
56	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
57	Bahía de Loreto National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
58	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
59	Braulio Carrillo National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
60	Grand Canyon National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
61	Jasper National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
62	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
63	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
64	Los Nevados National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
65	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
66	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
67	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
68	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data

← Back to Tikal National Park

Mountain Lion

About the Mountain Lion

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Jaguar

White-nosed Coati

Gray Fox

Kinkajou

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found