Research overview: puma kill caching and feeding ecology

Pumas typically kill prey larger than they can eat at once and cache carcasses to feed over several days. This overview synthesizes GPS-cluster and field studies showing how cougars drag and cover their kills with vegetation and debris, return to feed repeatedly, and defend the cache from scavengers, with caching influenced by temperature, competition, and the presence of bears or wolves that may usurp kills. It reviews how kill caching shapes the spacing of hunts, how females with kittens adjust their kill rate, and how cache sites can be located by following GPS clusters. The synthesis links caching to puma energetics and the role of cougars in provisioning scavengers. For enthusiasts it explains why a puma covers its kill with leaves and returns night after night, and how this feeding strategy reflects the economics of being a solitary predator of large prey.