Puma (Puma concolor)

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Why in news?

A recent study revealed that Puma is using a garden-to-hunt strategy; meaning they fertilise the soil in their hunting spots with their kills to attract more prey.
The animal carcasses of their prey are helping the animals create nutrient-rich hotspots that may continue to improve their future hunting success over time.
These nutrients in the soil increase plant quality and attract ungulates — large mammals with hooves.
Decomposing ungulate carcasses deposits elevated nitrogen, carbon and other valuable elements that improve soil and plants’ chemistry and nutrient makeup.

About Puma (Puma concolor):

Puma is a member of the family Felidae and is also called mountain lion, cougar, or catamount (archaic).
It is a large brownish New World cat comparable in size to the jaguar.
Habitats: Pumas live in a variety of habitats, including desert scrub, chaparral, swamps, and forests but they avoid agricultural areas, flatlands, and other habitats lacking cover (vegetative or topographic).
Puma has the widest distribution of any New World mammal, with a range extending from southeastern Alaska to southern Argentina and Chile.
Conservation status
- IUCN: Least Concern

Q1) What are Topographic maps?

Topographic maps are detailed, accurate graphic representations of features that appear on the Earth’s surface. It usually shows a geographic graticule and a coordinate grid, so you can determine the relative and absolute positions of mapped features.

Source: Secret lives of cougars: Pumas might be ‘gardening’ to attract prey to hunting hotspots