Cougar

Cougars are a breed of 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. One of the main reasons Cougars are hard to spot/find is because they are silent as they run. As well as this Cougars have a low stance, meaning they're always relatively low to the ground. 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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 * The most frequent place is the Wreck of the Serendipity. They can be found within the 'U' shape the road makes. Between 5am and 6am is the most frequent.
 * 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). In the land to the north of Fort Mercer, cougars can be found even during the day, and players may be attacked by up to five in one sitting.
 * Cougars can also be found in the hills north-west from MacFarlane's Ranch. They can be found with bait in the hills (go to the very mountainous part high up in the hills),
 * 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, ride around for 1-2 minutes and one will most likely attack.
 * 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.
 * Very rarely they spawn in Mexico.
 * They can also be found north of The Great Plains, between the railroad tracks and the river. The most reliable spawining spot is where the trees are thinning out where Tall Trees meets the Great Plains.

Tips and Tricks

 * Cougars often attack from behind, charging from an unseen spot in the bushes.
 * Cougars charge at the player in a straight line, so quickly sidestepping will allow the player to dodge the cougar.
 * They attempt to stalk and follow the player, giving an opportunity to spot and defend against.
 * They will often snarl audibly just before they run over to attack you. 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.
 * A very easy way to kill cougars is to get in a stagecoach, because they can't hit you and they will walk around in circles, making it very easy to kill them.
 * 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, but sometimes, but not very often, they will attack even if the player is lying on the ground and will die instantly every time.
 * 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.
 * Occasionally, shooting or knifing a cougar will cause it turn and run.
 * Riding on horseback whilst being attacked by cougars is a good strategy, although the cougar only needs to scratch the horse once and it dies. However, riding on a horse offers you some protection as the cougar will kill your horse first, and not you. But, Marston will be knocked down for a few seconds so you must react quickly to kill the cougar first. If you have one of the better horses, (e.g. American Standardbred), but do not have the deed, as it may be too expensive, it is recommended that you do not take that horse into cougar-prone areas, but steal a horse, for the protection it can offer (either steal one and do not hitch it, or break a wild one and do not hitch, as long as you want to keep your current horse.)
 * Observant players can sometimes see a cougar lying down in the grasses at the top of the cliffs in the upper areas of the great plains. The player can usually put a bullet in the cougar's head before they get up to attack.
 * Players should remember that rolling can be extremely useful when in combat with Cougars. If the player does not kill a Cougar while it is sprinting towards them, they can perform a roll by remaining in aim mode and pressing X or the square button while pushing the movement stick to perform the roll in that direction, it is ideal to roll to the left or right of the Cougar just before they attack. After you have evaded the Cougar it will usually run back into the foliage and attempt to stalk you again so don't lose sight of them or assume they have gone.
 * When hunting cougars in Tall Trees keep watch on other animals such as Bears or Bobcats.
 * When traveling you can sometimes meet a person asking for help finding animals this can provide a great opportunity in finding cougars.
 * In multiplayer, Cougars are plentiful at the cabin in Tanner's Reach.
 * In Tanner's Reach, should a large group of cougars attack, there is a rock near the cabin that is climbable, players can use it to their advantage by climbing up it and shooting the cougars from top without taking any strikes from them.

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 only take one knife strike to kill.
 * One of the best tactics is to shoot the cougar in the body two times with a Cattleman Revolver on horse back, then chase it down with a knife, this is the hardest part as it will not run slowly but it will not attack now. The best place to do this is south of Blackwater around the boar image in the map. It will take about two minutes for one to appear, if one appears and you kill it you won't have to leave the area or save and load as they will keep coming. Shooting the cougar once in the front legs and once in the back legs with the Cattleman Revolver seems to slow it down enough that you can run it down on foot and kill it with a knife.
 * 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.
 * It is possible but extremely difficult to kill one with a single slash of a knife; you must wait until the Cougar attempts to pounce on you and perfectly time a knife slash to the neck just before it collides with you (possibly the head too) but this is risky and nearly impossible to do.
 * The Expert Hunter outfit requires you to kill a Cougar using dynamite, you can use as many as it takes as it does not have to be in one hit. It is recommended to go to the Wreck of the Serendipity riding a horse and waiting for a cougar to come to you. Once you see one start riding and throw a stick of dynamite just a little bit in front of you then get out of there. You can also target the cougar with the dynamite in Dead Eye from horseback until the red x appears, and then hit the fire button and it will explode on impact with the cougar. Be careful not to hold the dynamite too long, even in Dead Eye, because it will explode in your hand and knock you down.

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.

Trivia

 * In the real world cougars are typically far less aggressive against humans than depicted in game. They don't usually recognize humans as prey and the mere act of shouting at them is sometimes enough to scare them off. If they do attack, they can usually be fended off using rocks, sticks or even bare hands. Also, Cougars are seldom found in grassy, open areas unlike in the game, and usually live in rocky, mountainous areas away from humans.
 * Cougars only require two [or less] strikes to kill Marston.
 * There have only been a total of 88 attacks on humans by cougars between the years of 1890 and 2004 with only 20 being fatal.
 * Real-life cougars are extremely solitary. The only time you will see more than one is if you encounter a mother and cubs.
 * It appears that in Red Dead Redemption the Cougars' primary source of food is the Boar as they are most commonly encountered in areas heavily populated by Boar with the exception of parts of Rio Bravo.
 * On the new trailer for Liars and Cheats, released September 15th, on the bottom of the screen during the hunting grounds section, it says to "Watch out for Demi the Legendary Cougar."
 * Cougars are commonly misidentified as bobcats.
 * Infected cougars are encounterable in the DLC Undead Nightmare.
 * Cougers and bobcats sound almost exactly the same.
 * The couger is one of (or the only) deadly animal that the player is unable to auto aim on.

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