The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as the mountain lion, puma, pan

1. This is most likely an excerpt from which of the following:

(A) A textbook on endangered species (we cant guess this. Nowehere in the passage its mentioned that now its endangered . however while reading the last line of last para you might get a feel that this option is true .But this hasnt been mentioned in passage so dont assume look for better option- reject )
(B) A field book on North American predators (the only option left - so B is the right choice)
(C) A proposal to help protect the cougar species in North America (no proposal has been made to protect them - reject)
(D) A government study on the effects of human development (this passage doesnt talk abt any such govt study - so reject)
(E) An analysis of North American ecosystems (this is not about ecosystem - reject)


2. Which of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?

(A) There are more cougars in Florida than there are in Minnesota.(no where its mentioned )
(B) Excessive hunting has been the primary cause of the population decrease in cougars across its entire habitat. (we cant assume that hunting led to the decrease in population there could be so many other factors as well)
(C) In Florida, cougar attacks on humans are more likely now than they were several decades ago. (the passage mentions this but FLORIDA no no no . the passage says when people enter their territory - refer lines - It is reclusive and mostly avoids people, so fatal attacks on humans are rare [b]but have been trending upward in certain areas during recent years as more people enter their territory. SO REJECT)
(D) The cougar has a larger range than either the grizzly bear or the American bison. YES (This cat prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but can also live in open areas. While large, it is not always the apex predator in its range, yielding to the jaguar, gray wolf, American black bear, and grizzly bear.)
(E) The cougar is considered the apex predator in most habitats - (I dont see any words in the passage to establish this claim . SO REJECT)

3. All of the following are discussed in the passage EXCEPT:

(A) the habitat of the cougar. (yes this has been mentioned in the passage with details )
(B) how the cougar pursues its prey. (An excellent stalk-and-ambush predator, the cougar pursues a wide variety of prey. Primary food sources include ungulates such as deer, elk, moose, and bighorn sheep, as well as domestic cattle, horses and sheep, particularly in the northern part of its range. - A PART OF HOW COUGAR PURSUES PREY HAS BEEN MENTIONED IN PASSAGE )
(C) the effects of land preservation on the cougar.(I dont see any PARA or LINE which says the land preservation or its effect on COUGAR- so this is the right choice )
(D) extirpation of the cougar in the 1900s. (the last para mentions details of this extirpation)
(E) the evolutionary history of the cougar.(refer 1st and last para it gives idea about history of cougar )

History of cougars and evolution of cougars, both are different things.
I don't see anything related to evolution of cougars.
I think C and E both are valid answer for 3rd problem.

1. This is most likely an excerpt from which of the following:

(A) A textbook on endangered species
(B) A field book on North American predators
(C) A proposal to help protect the cougar species in North America
(D) A government study on the effects of human development
(E) An analysis of North American ecosystems

Hi expert, no where in the passage it says that Cougar is native to North America. So, how is B justified?

Thank you in advance

Sir,

Q2 - (D) The cougar has a larger range than either the grizzly bear or [color=#ed1c24]the American bison. [/color]YES (This cat prefers habitats with dense underbrush and rocky areas for stalking, but can also live in open areas. While large, it is not always the apex predator in its range, yielding to the jaguar, grey wolf, American black bear, and grizzly bear.)

The cougar has a larger range than the grizzly bear that is clear but how about the American bison? we don't have any hint about it in the whole passage.
How can we infer that The cougar has a larger range than the American bison?

Thanks in advance

7.5 mins, 3/4 correct. got stumped on the second question bc had trouble finding support for the actual answer choice D, so ended up choosing A by process of PoE on the other choices.

The key to getting the first question right is understanding that the puma as an "endangered" species is out of scope since this is never stressed out in the passage. By process of PoE only answer that fits appropriately is B.


Thanks

Pls post official explanation for Q2 Sajjad1994

For Q4, doesn't the passage say that there is an isolated population of cougar in Florida now whereas the rest of it was wiped out in the 20th century. Hence I concluded that E would be a good choice. Can someone please explain ?

This question really confuses me!!
I am really not clear on the explanations here! Please help out!

In Q1, This is most likely an excerpt from which of the following:
For option E ??? An analysis of North American ecosystems
We are asked to eliminate E because (E) is even broader in scope. Basically don???t assume.

But in Q2 - Which of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?
Opt D - The cougar has a larger range than either the grizzly bear or the American bison.
We are asked to assume something that???s not even given in the passage
For (D), you learn in the passage that ???Its range, from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes of South America, is the greatest of ANY large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere.??? From this you can infer with certainty that the cougar has a larger range than the grizzly bear or American bison. Of course, the trick in this answer choice is that the American Bison is not discussed in the passage, but it is certainly a wild terrestrial mammal so (D) must be true.

And then again in Q 3 - All of the following are discussed in the passage EXCEPT:
(C) the effects of land preservation on the cougar.

(E) the evolutionary history of the cougar.
???E - And lastly, in the end of the first paragraph you learn that the cougar is more closely related to felines than to lions ??? a portion of the evolutionary history of the cougar. ???
We are again asked to assume for E (which is not right answer according to them) that.
It should be both C & E. the Mentioned part does not constitute the Evolutionary History.
As gvij2017 has written History of cougars and evolution of cougars, both are different things.
I don't see anything related to evolution of cougars.

Please post the OE for Q3 too Sajjad1994

Sajjad1994 thanks so much!
Does this mean that this sentence alone is sufficient to be classified as data on 'evolutionary history'?
"The cougar is more closely related to smaller felines, including the domestic cat, than to any subspecies of lion."

Several unanswered questions, mine is about Q2

There are more cougars in Florida than there are in Minnesota.
Excessive hunting has been the primary cause of the population decrease in cougars across its entire habitat.
In Florida, cougar attacks on humans are more likely now than they were several decades ago.

Hi plaverbach,

Let me know if this helps.




A is incorrect, as it's not mentioned anywhere in the passage. Even if we consider the lines: "In particular, the cougar was extirpated in eastern North America in the beginning of the 20th century, except for an isolated subpopulation in Florida. However, in recent decades, breeding populations have moved east into the far western parts of the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Transient males have been verified in Minnesota", we cannot infer if there are more cougars in Florida than there are in Minnesota.



B is incorrect, as even though mentioned: "Excessive hunting following European colonization of the Americas and the ongoing human development of cougar habitat has caused populations to drop in most parts of its historical range.", we cannot infer if this was the fundamental cause of the population decrease in cougars.



Consider the lines: "It is reclusive and mostly avoids people, so fatal attacks on humans are rare but have been trending upward in certain areas during recent years as more people enter their territory.". Here again, we cannot infer this being specifically mentioned with respect to Florida. Hence, C is incorrect as well.



Thanks.

First things first: THANKS!

So we would need to know that the grizzly bear is from America, right?