Research overview: the puma mating system and reproductive timing

Pumas are solitary cats with large, overlapping ranges in which males associate with females only briefly during estrus. This overview surveys what telemetry and field studies reveal about puma reproduction, including aseasonal breeding across much of the range, the formation of short-term mating associations, and the female's solitary rearing of young. It considers how male territory size relative to female ranges influences mating opportunities and how reproduction is timed in different climates. The review also touches on how human-caused mortality of resident males can disrupt the mating system and elevate infanticide. Understanding puma reproductive timing and spacing is central to managing this widely distributed but locally vulnerable felid.