Cougar

Cougar is an animal found in Red Dead Redemption. They are a species of predatory cat found throughout western North America at the time of Red Dead Redemption. The animal is also known as the Mountain Lion or Puma. Cougars are known to prey on travelers and their horses throughout the game world, and are notorious for interrupting the player's progress. Cougars may be hunted, skinned, and traded with merchants for cash.

Description
Cougars strike fear into the hearts of their unsuspecting victims with their cry. They are one of the most vicious predators in the game; killing swiftly and without remorse. One strike is enough to kill a horse and two strikes can kill the player. They often travel in pairs, attacking one at a time, unless chasing an NPC.

Cougars are scarce animals and the phrase "You don't find cougars, they find you," has arisen because of this. Generally, cougars are scripted to spawn randomly at random locations at any time, however, there are some areas in which Cougars may spawn frequently. Cougars are nocturnal, meaning they are more active at night, however they can be found in small numbers during the daytime or at dawn.

The fifth Master Hunter Challenge requires the player to kill and skin 2 cougars with a knife.

Locations
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 * Stillwater Creek has many Cougars. After finding an empty campfire, Marston will note that "it is far too quiet around here" and then he will be attacked by one. They will be found in around the marshy areas and tall grass.


 * Cougars are sometimes found in New Austin and Nuevo Paraiso on rocky outcrops. They can be found in West Elizabeth around the area of Beecher's Hope in the Great Plains region. Cougars are also common around Rio Bravo in New Austin (around Fort Mercer and Plainview, specifically around Repentance Rock where they are virtually the only animal that spawns at night).


 * Cougars can also be found in the hills north-west from MacFarlane Ranch. They can be found with bait in the hills (go to the very mountainous part high up in the hills), the first bait will bring a cougar, 2nd and 3rd a wolf and boar pack and the 4th bait will bring another cougar. Sometimes, the wolf and boar packs may be foxes.


 * Cougars, along with Wolves, Coyotes, and Bobcats, are often found in the random encounters where an NPC is being chased by a gang of predatory animals.


 * (Multiplayer Only) A large family of Cougars and sometimes Khan the Jaguar lives within the perimeter of the hunting cabin in Tanner's Reach, Tall Trees. There are at least 8 of them and they attack at once, so approach the cabin/area with caution.
 * They are frequently found near trees and grasses around Blackwater. They can be found South of Blackwater, Right above the image of the boars on the map.
 * Cougars also frequent the road heading southeast from Plainview into Mexico late at night.


 * They are also fairly common north of McFarlane Ranch (notated on the map, where the icon of a boar is) usually at dawn, dusk and morning.
 * Rarely a cougar can be seen outside of Thieves Landing in the swamplands.
 * Cougars can sometimes be found in Beecher's Hope, usually in late afternoon. They will normally be chasing prey (foxes, rabbits, etc.) in packs of 2.

Tips and Tricks

 * Cougars often attack from behind, charging from an unseen spot in the brush.
 * They attempt to stalk and follow the player, giving an opportunity to spot and defend against.
 * They will often snarl audibly just before they attack. Their charge is silent, and they are fast.
 * After killing a single cougar, the player should look for at least one more cougar to attack soon after.
 * When attacked, the player will be knocked down and defenseless for a few seconds. Cougars often use hit and run attacks; attacking the player or horse and then running off, turning around when out of sight, and attacking again.
 * To effectively hunt cougars, a good strategy is using firearms, and limiting open space by situating the player at a cliff's edge or a canyon wall. Cougars, once sprinting, will sprint in a straight line. This makes a good clean shot relatively easy with good reaction time. Going into Dead Eye and aiming for the animal's head makes it an easy kill. A powerful revolver or rifle works well.
 * Trying to block an attack from a Cougar with a knife is useless.
 * Riding on horse whilst being attacked by cougars is not a good strategy, because the cougar only needs to scratch the horse once and it dies.

Challenges

 * The 5th Hunter's Challenge requires that two Cougars be killed and skinned with a Hunting Knife. One of the ways to go about doing this is to have a full Dead Eye meter. When searching for the Cougar, a Pistol or Revolver should be equipped. Once the Cougar is spotted go into Dead Eye and put two shots into the Cougar's body, just make sure to avoid shooting it in the head. Once the Cougar has been shot it should run away and it can then be chased down and killed with the Hunting Knife, and as the Cougar will be injured it should be an easy kill.
 * An alternative method for killing a Cougar with the Hunting Knife is to attack from horseback. Use a pistol to first injure the Cougar and cause it to flee, then chase it down and attack with the knife.
 * There is another way. Stay at the cougar's back so he can't attack, then give some space and he will prepare an attack then run to him and knife him. He takes about 5 seconds to turn and attack from behind. One of the best places to do this is southwest of Blackwater.

Spawning Glitch
Sometimes, in cougar locations throughout single player, players can experience large amounts of cougars attacking very frequently. These glitches can continue for infinite amounts of time, or until the player leaves the area. This differs from the usual one/two cougars at one location at a time.

This glitch was also reported in Free Roam, where the player in question was ongoing a firefight in the Great Plains. The player was consecutively attacked by cougars, 15 in 10 minutes. The only way to stop the glitch is for all the players in the Great Plains to evacuate the area for around 15 minutes.

Achievement
The player must kill a Cougar to contribute to the successful completion of the trophy/achievement: