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Cougars Survived the Pleistocene Extinction Because They’ll Eat Just About Anything

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http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...eyll-eat-just-about-anything-meaty-180951214/

Cougars are not picky eaters. They'll scarf down pretty much any animal that crosses their path, living or already dead. What's more, they finish their meal, bones and all. A cougar does not leave any scraps.

This dietary indiscretion might have been key to the survival of modern cougars' ancestors, according to research from Vanderbilt University. Around 12,000 years ago, big mammals around the world fell by the wayside in what's known as the Late Pleistocene extinction. The event was likely caused by changes in climate as well as a new predator on the block—humans. In the Americas, four of six big cat species went extinct during this time, leaving only cougars and jaguars to roam that land mass.
 
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