Cougar

DLC-Exclusive content. This content requires the Tales from the Far Territory addon to be installed before it can be seen or used in regular gameplay.

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A deadly hunter, the Cougar stalks the rocky crags and ravines around Great Bear and may be your greatest nemesis yet. Hinterland description

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The Cougar is a Wildlife predator in The Long Dark. They were initially added in Part 5 of the Tales from the Far Territory DLC (June 2024) but were promptly removed to be reworked and re-released in Part 6 (Dec 2024).

They only appear in Survival Mode and do not appear in Challenges. They can be toggled on or off in pre-existing saves or tweaked in Custom Mode.

Overview

Cougars are territorial "alpha-predators" and pose a serious threat on all Survival Mode difficulties (except Pilgrim, where they are disabled). They predominantly inhabit the outer rims of Regions and possess a large detection range (particularly on Stalker). Co-existence with Cougars is possible by avoiding areas they inhabit and refraining from hunting them. The Cougar reacts to player behavior and will increase its territory size, the number of territories and the number of Cougars in a single region based on how the player interacts with it.

Cougars have a grace period where they do not appear in the game world for some time when first enabled. The grace period varies in each difficulty by a substantial amount. Once the grace period is over, a cutscene will play to inform the player Cougars are now present in the world. The cutscene will only be played once per save file.

Cougar Territory is indicated to the player by a variety of markings, sounds and signs that are specific to the Cougar. Simply avoiding the territory entirely will almost guarantee a player will never encounter a Cougar, which is made even easier by the fact that a Cougar-specific icon automatically appears on any given region map as soon as the player enters the area, as long as the cutscene has already been played. In the case of a completely blank map, a floating Cougar icon will appear when the player opens the map.

Like the Moose, the Cougar does not bleed out and typically requires multiple rounds of ammunition or arrows being shot to go down. It is however possible, albeit rare, to down a Cougar with a single, lucky critical shot to the head, neck or torso. The Cougar is very sturdy and has the highest detection range of any animal, with its line of sight being as high as 300 meters away from the player's position (line of sight detection radius increases with difficulty). Cougars do not typically leave their Territory unless the player's Scent is high. This commonly occurs if multiple Cougar Territories are active and the player is carrying meat from hunted animals around.

Increasing aggression on behalf of the player will be the only factor in how often a player encounters Cougars and how easy it will be to avoid them. Cougars are a particularly tough predator, requiring multiple Hunting Rifle shots or Arrows even at the highest Rifle Firearm or Archery skill levels and they do not bleed out. Like other predators, they become exponentially more dangerous during the Aurora.

Enable Option

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The most deadly and ferocious predator you will encounter in The Long Dark. The Cougar's relentless stalking can be mitigated, but only for a time. Choose wisely. Disable if you are unready to be stalked by this predator in your game. In-game Description

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New and existing survival sandboxes have the choice to include Cougars in their game. Cougars will not appear if the option is disabled when starting a sandbox (the Cougar Hide Wrap Blueprint will also be removed from the crafting menu).

The toggle to disable Cougars is not present on Misery, where Cougars are enabled by default.

Cougars are disabled on Pilgrim, so the toggle is not present (unless enabled in Custom).

Drops

Killing a Cougar will produce a Cougar Carcass which can be harvested for the following items:

Cougar drops can be used to craft two unique items. The Cougar Hide Wrap is a clothing item worn on the outer head slot that is both made and repaired using a Cured Cougar Hide. The Cougar Claw Knife is a Hunting Knife variant with slightly altered characteristics (mainly its superiority in struggles and faster harvesting times) that can be crafted with the Cougar Claw (see below) and is sharpened like any other Tool.

*Note: Cougar Meat has a Risk of Intestinal Parasites on higher difficulties.

Animal Fat is produced automatically when harvesting raw meat. A Cougar Claw is harvested automatically when Harvesting a Cougar Hide or Quartering the Carcass. Neither appear when Harvesting a Carcass and cannot be harvested separately.

Behaviour

True to their title as a "super predator," a Cougar's behaviour is a combination of the many traits belonging to other dangerous wildlife on Great Bear Island, with its own specific behaviours as well.

• A Cougar's basic movements and stances are similar to Wolves/Poisoned Wolves.
• They have two attack types, a "hit and run" Swipe and Struggles, while also dodging and keeping their distance from the player, similar to Timberwolves.
• They are considerably sturdier than other wildlife and their senses (particularly sight and smell) are heightened, much like Bears.
• They leave markings in their territory and do not bleed out when shot, like Moose.
• They are often heard from their vocalizations long before they are encountered and have their own unique warning music when they are close, similar to the Darkwalker.

Basic Behaviors

• Territory Patrol: Cougars will patrol a set area of a region on the map marked as Cougar Territory, usually located in a mountainous location. Their vocalizations can be heard a considerable distance before the player happens upon them, similar to Wolves howling in the distance. Cougar Territory will also be filled with other warnings, such as bloody scratched trees or gory carcasses.
• Initial Player Detection: Cougars have the highest detection range of any animal, with their line of sight being as high as 300 meters away from the players position (line of sight detection radius increases with the Experience difficulty). Once a Cougar gains sight of the player, its vocalizations change and a unique danger audio track will play. The Cougar will begin slowly stalking the player until line of sight is lost. If a Cougar is very close when spotting the player, a loud audible growl is heard close by before the audio track begins playing.
• Engaging Player: Aiming weapons at Cougars when they are stalking the player does not cause them to charge, but missed gunshots/arrows that land too close to them will immediately cause the Cougar to begin chasing the player down. If a Cougar stalks the player for long enough without being provoked, they will charge the player, meaning they cannot be outwalked.
• Charging Player: The Cougar will rapidly charge and close in on the player's position, with two possible outcomes occurring. Both outcomes result in the Cougar temporarily retreating before stalking the player again:
  • The Cougar is shot at close range (hit or miss) before the Cougar reaches the player. This causes the Cougar to preform a ''swiping'' glancing attack instead of a Struggle, damaging the player and knocking their weapon out of their hand to leave them defenseless.
  • The Cougar successfully charges the player without being harmed and a Struggle ensues, causing the player to black out. The player will wake up with Severe Lacerations and some of their items from their Backpack lying on the ground. The Cougar will be seen running away to a safe distance before engaging the player again some time later.
• Stand Ground: If the player positions themselves on terrain that the Cougar cannot reach, they will stand their ground and growl/hiss at the player, similar to Wolves (they show no fear of aimed weapons, unlike Wolves) while swiping at the air threateningly. If shot with a firearm in this stance, they will run off for a time but will eventually return to stalking the player.
• Fleeing: Cougars that flee from players have a chance to lose sight of them, returning back to Territory Patrol behaviour.
• Leaving Territory: Cougars can leave their Territory if the player's Scent is high. This commonly occurs if multiple Cougar Territories are active and the player is carrying meat from hunted animals around. Cougars typically return to their Territory if they lose sight of the player.

Miscellaneous Behaviors

• Its walking speed is on par with Wolves while its charging speed is on par with a Bear or Moose charge. This means a player cannot outrun a charging Cougar.
  • The Cougar prowls close to the ground and can quickly pivot on its feet to face the other direction, twisting its midsection to make tight turns. This makes it the fastest turning predator when it comes to charging, making it impossible to "Bear/Moose dance" by walking around a continuously charging Cougar.
• If hit from afar, the Cougar appears to always run away to a set distance before coming back, similarly to how Wolves/Moose/Bears behave when scared. If the Cougar loses sight of the player, it can go back to its basic patrolling behavior and ignore the player until further provoked.
• If the player enters an interior while being stalked, the Cougar will despawn and respawn somewhere in its Territory, like most wildlife.
• Cougars do not typically leave their Territory unless the player's Scent is high. This commonly occurs if multiple Cougar Territories are active and the player is carrying meat from hunted animals around.

Fear of Fire

Cougars do not fear a lit Flare, Marine Flare, Torch, or contained fire. They do however avoid a lit Campfire as well as the player if they stand close to one. Cougars that chase the player will circle around a lit Campfire to avoid getting close to it while attacking.

Sounds

Cougars display a variety of different vocalizations as they prowl their territory, indicating behaviour changes, location or warnings.

• Idle: Cougars let out soft squeaks/meows when they are unaware of the player, often stopping as they meow. If close enough to the Cougar, the sound of branches snapping can sometimes be heard as they move around (this sound becomes louder the closer the Cougar is to the player). These vocalizations can be continuously heard far off in the distance and serve as an early warning to the player that they are near their Territory.
• Detection: Cougars begin aggressively growling in response to the player's presence in order to drive them out of their territory. Cougars that are very close to the player once they are first spotted will emit an incredibly loud growl.
• Stalking: If a Cougar is stalking the player, they will occasionally growl/hiss at them. The sound of branches snapping is very audible in this phase.
• Charging: When close enough, a Cougar gives out a series of quick high pitched snarls and growls as they aggressively charge the player.
• Death: They will let out a final moderate roar as they perish and fall over.

Aurora

Like all predators, the Aurora will produce an Aurora version of the animal. The Aurora Cougar is a much more aggressive, less fear prone version of the Cougar.

• Aurora Cougars do not fear lit Flares, Marine Flares, or Torches.
  • They also do not fear Noisemakers, and will turn towards the player's direction and most likely charge them if one explodes.
• They are even more aggressive than normal, immediately charging after the player once they detect them regardless of the distance, rather than slowly stalking them and charging when close.
• Unlike Aurora Wolves, they do not fear street lights.
• Aurora Cougars are the only Aurora Predator that do not fear Flashlight high beams.
• They will stay away from lit Campfires, but will still keep close by and stalk the player.

Wildlife Interactions

Cougars interact with other Wildlife in the following ways:

• Rabbit, Deer, Ptarmigan, Moose: These animals immediately flee from a nearby Cougar. Strangely, Cougars will not attack Prey animals despite Deer Carcasses being found in their territory.
• Wolf, Timberwolf, Poisoned Wolf: When a Cougar is nearby, Wolves will immediately flee from the area. They will keep their distance until they feel it is safe enough, at which point they will stop fleeing and revert to their normal patrolling behavior. If they pass through a Cougar's territory, Wolves will not flee unless the Cougar is in close proximity. Cougars do not attack Wolves.
• Bear: Bears and Cougars ignore each other.
• Other Cougars: If 2 Cougar Territories are active in a region and both Cougars come across one another, they ignore each other. If both detect the player, the closest one will attack the player while the one farthest runs away (they do not take turns attacking the player like Wolves).
• Despite not appearing in the Challenge Escape the Darkwalker, Cougars run away when the Darkwalker is close to them and will die once Toxic Fog reaches 100% (if spawned with console commands).

Cougar Spawning

After Cougars are enabled in a save, there is a certain amount of days before Cougars can spawn into the world, based on the selected Survival Mode Experience. For new saves, this grace period begins immediately. For existing saves, the grace period is added concurrently to days survived. The number of days shown below are a window within which the Cougar will spawn.

Survival Mode	Earliest Arrival Day (Days Survived)	Guaranteed Arrival Day (Days Survived)
Pilgrim	Disabled
Voyageur	30	33
Stalker	20	23
Interloper	10	12
Misery	5	7

After the earliest arrival day has passed, there is a 50% chance for the Cougar to become active on each day. The Cougar is guaranteed to arrive by the last day of the arrival window.

Using Custom settings, the Cougar arrival time seems to be connected to the Cougar Spawn Chance setting as follows:

• None = Disabled
• Low = 30-33 days
• Medium = 20-23 days
• High = 10-12 days

Cougar Cutscene

After the Cougar grace period is complete and provided the player is in a region where Cougars can spawn, a cutscene will play to alert the player. This will typically happen whenever the survivor next exits a building with a loading screen, transitions between regions or sleeps.

There are five different Cougar Arrival Cutscenes, but the backgrounds are changed based on each region, and the cutscenes also reflect weather and time of day. Dragging a Travois can delay the cutscene until it is dropped. Likewise being in a Snow Shelter or indoors can prevent it playing until leaving the shelter.

Cougars will not begin spawning until the cutscene has played.

Cougar Territories and Threat Levels

Once a Cougar Arrival Cinematic has played in a save, Cougars can spawn in a number of specific regions exclusively inside set Territories that they linger in. A Cougar Territory is shown as a special icon on the map that will appear as soon as the player enters the region. There is always only a single territory present, when the Cougar first begins spawning.

As a response to player behaviour and aggressiveness, the game will spawn more Cougar Territories. Engaging with, killing or damaging a Cougar in its territory will cause another Cougar to appear on the map alongside its own dedicated territory, up to a maximum of three Cougar Territories at once. Being attacked by a Cougar can also spawn more Territories. This is called the Threat Level mechanic.

Threat Levels are region specific and start at level 1. If you encounter a Cougar and engage it, the Threat Level in that region will increase. Each Threat Level spawns an additional Cougar in the region, up to a maximum of three Cougar Territories in a single region. There is a cooldown (15 minutes) to how quickly the Threat Level increases during a Cougar encounter. If you take too long to kill the Cougar, the Threat Level can go all the way up to level 3 during a single encounter.

The Threat Level of a region drops by 1 after 5 days, which means additional Cougar Territories will start despawning after 5 days, if you do not interact with any Cougar. The Threat Levels will keep diminishing every 5 days, until only one Cougar Territory is active in the map. Cougar Territories will despawn in the reverse order of appearance.

Cougar Territories begin as a relatively small part of a region, but slowly increase in size as the survivor spends more time in that region. Territory size is not indicated on the map, it will only be noticed by how far the Cougar will end up patrolling and where markings can be seen. Territory size resets back to its original size after its associated Cougar is killed.

A killed Cougar respawns after 20 days on Voyager difficulty, 15 on Stalker and 10 on Interloper, in its original territory. Note: Cougars seem to be respawning after only 24 hours at the moment, likely due to a bug.

Cougar Territory is indicated by:

• Cougar Territory marking on the region Map (a section appears filled out with its own icon even if the player never surveys).
• Cougar sounds (see the Sounds paragraph of the Behaviour section. You will always hear them before running into them)
• The Cougar Theme music that will begin playing when inside a 200-meter radius around the Cougar
• Tree Markings, including torn-off bark, blood streaks, and prints
• Ravaged Deer Remains (an unharvestable doe carcass with a broken neck and numerous lacerations)
• Cougar pawprints (visually similar to very large cat paws) on the same timer as all footprints and pawprints

Cougar locations

After the difficulty-appropriate grace period and the short cutscene, Cougars may then spawn in any eligible region. Initially, the Cougar will spawn in only one location (territory) in each region. Interaction with the Cougar will cause the Threat Level to go up and spawn additional Cougar Territories within the same region, up to a total of three territories each containing a Cougar. If left alone for 5 days, an expansion territory and its Cougar will de-spawn. Only the initial territory remains when a player doesn't interact with the Cougars. Killing a Cougar does not prevent new Cougars from spawning, so killing a cougar can cause a new one to appear on the way back from the kill.

Cougars can spawn in the following locations:

Ash Canyon

• In the forest between Stone Shelf Cave and rope climb to Gold Mine (Threat Level 1)
• In the forest between Angler's Den, Foreman's Retreat and Broad Falls (Threat Level 2)
• In the forest between Shattered Cove and Bitter Marsh (Threat Level 3)

Blackrock

• No Road Cave (Threat Level 1)
• Grand Meadow (Threat Level 2)
• North West of Foreman's Clearcut, in front of unnamed cave (Threat Level 3)

Bleak Inlet

• Around Bunker Alpha (Threat Level 1)
• On the large hill at the Washed Out Trailers (Threat Level 2)
• On the crossroads nearby Cannery Worker Residences (Threat Level 3)

Coastal Highway (currently deactivated)

• In the forest below the transition to the Ravine (Threat Level 1).
• Northwest of the Fishing Camp and south of Bear Creek Campground (Threat Level 2)
• Around the Quonset Garage (Threat Level 3)

Forsaken Airfield

• In the forest south of Brittle Cave double waterfall and north of Fallow Dugout (Threat Level 1)
• In the forest west of Mindful Cabin (Threat Level 2)
• In the forest between Fallow Dugout and Bunker Omega (Threat Level 3)

Hushed River Valley

• North of the middle exit of Ice Cave System North (Threat Level 1)
• Between Mammoth Falls and Quarrelling Falls (Threat Level 2)
• In the forest between Reclusive Falls and Valley View Point (Threat Level 3)

Mountain Town

• On the slopes between the Farm Hay Storage and the St. Christopher's Church (Threat Level 1)
• Between St. Christopher's Church and Trailer (Threat Level 2)
• In the Wood Lot near Orca Gas Station (Threat Level 3)

Mystery Lake

• In the forest behind Clearcut (Threat Level 1)
• In the forest between Logging Camp and Train Loading Area (Threat Level 2)
• Between Camp Office and Deadfall Area (Threat Level 3)

Pleasant Valley

• Between Pensive Pond and Picnic Spot (Threat Level 1)
• Between Bunker Beta and the bridge to Three Strikes Farmstead (Threat Level 2)
• Thomson's Crossing, near the road to Contemplation Bridge (Threat Level 3)

Sundered Pass

• In the forest west of Giant's Thumbprint (Threat Level 1)
• In the forest south of Seedling Spring (Threat Level 2)
• In the forest near Route One Waterfall (Threat Level 3)

Timberwolf Mountain

• In the forest near Forest Cave (Threat Level 1)
• Between Engine (West) and Blackrock Transition Cave (Threat Level 2)
• In the forest between Mountaineer's Hut and Landing Gear (Threat Level 3)

Cougar-free regions

Cougars are not known to be found in the following regions:

• Broken Railroad
• Crumbling Highway
• Desolation Point
• Far Range Branch Line
• Forlorn Muskeg
• Keeper's Pass North
• Keeper's Pass South
• Ravine
• Transfer Pass
• Winding River
• Zone of Contamination

Hunting

Hunting a Cougar is one of the most dangerous activities in The Long Dark, and requires immense preparation beforehand in order to avoid a quick and easy death.

Damage Values

The chart below shows how damage is calculate when injuring a Cougar.

Critical Hits

Critical hits cause the animal to instantly die after being hit by a shot. The following table contains the critical hit chances based on the body part that was shot on the animal.

Base Weapon Damage

Cougars take large amounts of damage to kill. Higher Rifle Firearm and Archery skill level marginally affects the amount of damage done to a Cougar (Arrow and Bow types do effect damage output of bows, but this chart uses base Survival Bow and Simple Arrow as a reference).

Skill & Level	Base Weapon Damage
Rifle Firearm 1 -3	100
Rifle Firearm 4	110
Rifle Firearm 5	120
Revolver Firearm 1 - 5	100
Archery 1	80
Archery 2 - 4	88
Archery 5	100

General Preparation

Avoid carrying any unnecessary items that will slow the player down. Always ensure that your Encumbrance is at least 5.00-10.00kg below the max carry capacity to be safe. Always ensure that the survivor is well rested to avoid low Fatigue and thus low Stamina for sprinting when a Cougar charges. Familiarize yourself with the area in and around a Cougar's Territory and learn what buildings, shelters, and other hostile wildlife are in the general area.

Always bring a high Condition Hunting Rifle or Survival Bow with plenty of high grade ammunition (20 Rifle Ammunition/10 Arrows), as the Cougar does not go down easily. Consider taking a backup weapon, such as a Revolver, in case the Cougar swipes the player's main weapon away, to not be rendered defenseless. Make sure your Clothing is in high condition and you are warm enough to avoid freezing should Torn Clothing occur. Keep repair supplies handy should they become too damaged. Always begin a hunt when your Condition is relatively high to avoid risking death. Consider avoiding hunting Cougars until your Rifle Firearm/Archery/Revolver Firearm Skills are at least Level 3 or above, as the accuracy and damage bonuses are more helpful.

Avoid hunting a Cougar at night or during foggy weather, as this make the player an easy target in the darkness. Heavy fog at night is possibly the worst time to hunt a Cougar, as the big cat's heightened senses far surpass the player's and makes it easier for an ambush to occur. Carrying Scented items can be more of a burden if the Cougar finds the player early, unless the player has a specific location prepared to lure the Cougar to.

Aurora Cougars are even more deadly than usual, so great care must be taken if hunting an Aurora Cougar. It is otherwise generally advised to simply avoid an Aurora Cougar if possible.

Safehouse Supplies

It is generally a good idea to build up multiple Safehouses filled with useful supplies in the region in case the Cougar successfully gives the player Severe Lacerations, as the player will need to recover for the next 72 hours and cannot sprint to escape danger very easily. Having the necessary supplies to hunker down while on the mend is vastly preferable than scrounging for what you need while in an emergency. Always ensure a steady supply of food, potable water, medicine, and firewood is on hand that the player can use.

First Aid

Make sure to carry plenty of First Aid supplies should a Struggle occur, as a Struggle often results in 3 Blood Loss occurring and gaining Severe Lacerations. The minimum amount of supplies should always be carried or close by should a Struggle occur.

• 3-9 initial Bandage for Blood Loss. At least 9 are needed to fully heal from Severe Lacerations, 2-3 for the for the Struggle, 6 for the remaining Blood Loss over the next 72 hours.
• 3-9 initial  Old Man's Beard Wound Dressing/ 1.00 L  Antiseptic for Infection Risk. There can be 9 Infection Risks from Severe Lacerations, 2-3 for the Struggle, 6 from the remaining Blood Loss over the next 72 hours.
• Plenty of Food, Water (Potable), and  Birch Bark Tea to recover from attacks if the player needs to retreat. Recipes that restore Condition are also helpful.
• A  Sewing Kit/ Fishing Tackle and plenty of  Cloth/ Cured Leather to repair damaged Clothing. Spare backup Clothing is also helpful.
• An  Emergency Stim if the player is attacked and needs to run away fast (though you cannot outrun the Cougar forever).
• A  Bedroll of some kind in case the player ends up in a building without a bed and  Cup of Herbal Tea to help recover Condition while sleeping.

Attacks and Struggles

Cougars possess two types of attacks, a 'glancing blow' and a Cougar Struggle. Both occur when a Cougar makes physical contact with the survivor. The number of shots you've taken at the Cougar will determine, which type of attack the Cougar will use on its next charge:

• If you shoot at the Cougar once, it will use the Glancing Attack and it will keep using the Glancing Attack only, until you have taken more than three shots at it.
• When you attempt to shoot the Cougar more than three times, it will switch to the Struggle Attack on the next charge.

The shots do not have to hit, it's enough to shoot in the direction of the Cougar for the shot to register. The Cougar also needs to be close enough to charge you for the shot to register and increment the counter.

After a Cougar Struggle the shot counter is reset to zero. This means you need to get one shot in again to prevent a second Struggle. This shot counter seems to even persist if you leave the region or pass time. So if you shoot at a Cougar, then leave the region, it can be good to note down how many shots you've taken.

Glancing Attacks

Glancing Attacks only occur when the player has taken 1-3 shots at the charging Cougar with a ranged weapon (e.g. Hunting Rifle). Glancing Attacks are somewhat similar to Timberwolf "bite-and-run" attacks, where The Cougar deals damage to the player as it attacks and swipes the weapon out of the survivor's hand.

• A Glancing Attack causes 20-40% damage to the player.
• No clothing damage.
• Equipped weapon drops after the attack.

After a Glancing Attack the Cougar will run away.

Cougar Struggle

Cougar Struggles are an event (similar to Bear or Moose struggles), featuring a mauling cutscene and do not grant the option for the survivor to defend themselves.

The Cougar only uses its Struggle Attack in two cases: if it reaches the survivor before the survivor has managed to shoot at it at least once, or if the survivor has taken four or more shots at the Cougar.

• A Cougar Struggle causes ~40-60% Condition damage (less with Protective Clothing).
• Severe damage to all outer layer clothing.
• Some of the player's items will be dropped to the ground.
• The unique affliction Severe Lacerations is applied.
• Additionally: Severe Lacerations applies 2-3 Blood Loss and 2-3 Infection Risk immediately.

1. Note: "Severe Lacerations" affliction lasts for 72 hours and during this time your maximum Condition is limited to 50%. Severe Lacerations has a chance to periodically, i.e. every 12 hours, apply new Blood Loss and Infection Risk (requiring a Bandage and Antiseptic). This makes Time Accelerating (Sleep, Pass Time, Crafting, Harvesting, etc.) dangerous while afflicted.
2. Note: Blood Loss causes 30% Condition loss per hour and each application stacks. This can quickly kill a survivor without enough bandages.

After a Struggle the Cougar will be running away to a safe distance before engaging the player again some time later.

Don't be afraid to retreat

A Cougar's health remains the same once damaged, and sometimes retreating is the best option when the player is severely wounded. Having a fall back plan beforehand and retreating to your Safehouse full of supplies to heal up if things don't go well is generally the best way to ensure your survival.

Strategies

• In similar fashion to other animals, Cougars will stalk the player to the edge of its territory once it spots them. If a car or building is nearby, the player can lead the Cougar along until they reach it, taking up position with their weapon of choice near the door. From there, you can engage the Cougar, entering the building or car to reset the Cougar's position when it gets too close. In most instances, you are only able to get 1 shot off before the Cougar closes the distance, so caution is advised.
• If the player happens to have a Ballistic Vest or any high protection clothing on hand (above 50% protection is preferable), you'll be able to greatly reduce the damage taken by the Cougar's glancing blows.
• If the player can reach high ground inaccessible to the Cougar (such as the edge of a rock or a fallen tree), the Cougar's pathfinding will get confused and open up the opportunity for an easy kill.
• Unlike all other animals, the Cougar seems to have no fear of distress pistol shots. Distress pistol damage on Cougar is negligible; it would take tens of flare shells to kill a Cougar with it. Similar to the Moose, Distress Pistol shots on Cougars cannot crit.
• Similar to bear, the Cougar seems to avoid coming close to campfires, so making one can provide a safe spot to shoot at him or to retreat back to.
• A charging Cougar moves very quickly and usually not in a straight line. Approaching the Cougar sneakily significantly reduces the chance to be detected and opens up the possibility of firing a shot calmly (Archery level 5 required if a bow is used).
• When faced with a charging Cougar, it is better to shoot and miss than to risk not being able to shoot in time and getting caught up in a struggle.
• Attacking a Cougar will cause additional Cougars to spawn in different locations in the same region. These will de-spawn after a number of days, but caution is advised, when travelling back to base after a Cougar encounter.

Legacy Information: Cougar 1.0

The Cougar was initially implemented in patch Tales From The Far Territory DLC part 5 (June 2024), but was reworked in the Part 6 (December 2024) DLC patch. The following section contains deprecated information about this legacy (Cougar 1.0) version, of which only some mechanics are still reflected in-game.

The Cougar used to occupy a region once the survivor had spent enough consecutive days there. Cougar Threat could be mitigated by regularly traveling between different regions. Once a Cougar occupied a region it would remain there until killed or the survivor remained outside that region for a period of days.

Cougar Encroaching

The Cougar will encroach on any region the survivor has lived for too many consecutive days in. During this time is is still possible to travel outside without risk of a cougar attack.

• A warning message "Cougar Encroaching" (in white) would appear at the top of the UI when The Cougar begun traveling to the current region, providing 2-5 days notice to leave the region or prepare.
• A red "Cougar Arrival" timer on the Map ("M") for the afflicted region.

Note: all Indoor areas and transition mines/caves are children to a region, and were counted for cougar presence.

Cougar Threat Arrived

If the survivor remained within the same region when the Cougar arrived, that region would become infested and the Cougar would begin hunting them until they or it are killed, or the survivor fled the region for a number of days. Once arrived the Cougar could attack at any time while outdoors. It beared multiple similarities to The Darkwalker.

Destroying the Den

This den could be temporarily destroyed by throwing THREE Noisemakers at it, collapsing the cave and suppressing Cougar activity across the Island for a long time.

Once the survivor begun attacking the den with Noisemakers, The Cougar would begin hunting them immediately until the den was destroyed. Contrary to developer's statements, the Cougars were a scripted event by, essentially, teleporting onto the player on a random occasion and trigger a struggle before fleeing and vanishing should it not be killed.

Struggles

The Cougar originally teleported onto the player and began a struggle if the player was in an infested area. A cutscene would play as the Struggle began, with a surviving player being given the option to choose at least one weapon in their inventory to counter-attack and fire a single shot at the retreating animal:

• Strike (fire a single Hunting Rifle, Revolver, or Survival Bow shot, or faint after 10 seconds)
• Desperation (faint immediately)

If "Strike" is chosen the selected weapon will draw, and the survivor will have 10 seconds to aim and fire a single shot at the retreating cougar. The cougar will flee in a random direction, which may be obscured by terrain or obstacles, as the game speed is set to slow motion. After taking one shot or waiting too long (10 seconds pass) the survivor will faint, awaking a short time later.

• If the shot hits: The Cougar it will be found dead nearby when the survivor awakes. The Cougar infestation in the region will also end for a time.
• If the shot misses: The Cougar will escape and continue hunting the survivor. Can result in a new cougar struggle as early as 2 hours later.

Trivia

• The Cougar is based off of the Cougar (Puma concolor), a species of Felidae found in North American and known by over 40 different English names. The most common names for this species include Puma, Cougar, Mountain Lion, Panther, and Catamount (the later meaning cat of the mountain).
  • Cougars and cats in general do not typically move around with all of their claws permanently extended as shown in game, as they are usually retracted inside the paws to protect them.
• Killing 3 Cougars formerly unlocked the "Big Cat Killer" Feat. The Feat was introduced in the 1.0 release of the Cougar for 4 days, but was demoted to a legacy feat after the 2.0 re-release.
• There were 4 Notes added with the Redux Cougar that give tips on avoiding an encounter with a Cougar:
  • Cougar Warning Flyer
  • Cougar Warning Flyer (2)
  • Naturalist Notebook 1
  • Naturalist Notebook 2
• It is implied by The Foreman and the description of Rüdiger's Watch that Dr. Rüdiger was once attacked by a Cougar.

Gallery

Game History

v • d • e TLD Wildlife
Fish	Freshwater  Burbot  Goldeye  Lake Whitefish  Smallmouth Bass Saltwater  Coho Salmon  Rainbow Trout  Red Irish Lord  Rockfish Unique  Big Bass
Animals	Herbivore  Deer  Moose  Ptarmigan  Rabbit Carnivore  Bear  Cougar  Timberwolf  Wolf ( Poisoned Wolf) Scavenger  Crow Unique  Old Bear  Ghost Stag
Eldritch	The Darkwalker
Plant	Cat Tail Burdock  Green Birch Sapling  Green Maple Sapling Oak Tree  Rose Hip  Scrub Brush
Fungi	Old Man's Beard Lichen  Reishi Mushroom
Interactions	Baiting Carcass Harvesting Foraging Hunting Ice Fishing Struggle Trapping