Addax (1) and Puma (2)

Addax are desert antelope that are amazing at saving water. They can go long periods without drinking by holding onto moisture from the grasses they eat. Pumas, also called mountain lions, are powerful predators that carefully manage their speed and energy when hunting in hilly landscapes.

Tonight’s habitat is a temperate forest in Tennessee. The addax suddenly finds himself surrounded by tall trees, frogs calling, and birds singing—very different from the desert! Nearby, a puma appears silently in the shadows, downwind from the addax.

The puma leaps up into an oak tree above him. When the wind shifts, the addax smells the predator and bolts, swinging his long horns. He gets briefly tangled in shrubs but breaks free and runs.

The puma watches… but doesn’t chase. He ate recently and only hunts every several days. Full and sleepy, the puma curls up for a nap instead.

The addax escapes unharmed—but the puma remains calm, well-fed, and in control of the forest.

Puma outlasts addax!