The puma of the plains of South America ( P. concolor cabrerae , called the Argentine cougar by North Americans ) is noted for its extreme unwillingness to attack humans . According to the Anglo @-@ Argentine naturalist William Henry Hudson " It do not attack man , and Azara is perfectly correct when he affirm that it never hurt , or threaten to hurt , man or child , even when it find them sleeping . This , however , is not a full statement of the facts ; the puma will not even defend itself against man " . And : " All who have killed or witnessed the killing of the puma — and I have questioned scores of hunters on this point — agree that it resign itself in this unresisting , pathetic manner to death at the hands of man . Claudio Gay , in his Natural History of Chili , say , " When attacked by man its energy and daring at once forsake it , and it become a weak , inoffensive animal , and trembling , and uttering piteous moans , and shedding abundant tears , it seem to implore compassion from a generous enemy " . Hudson add that , except in relation to man , the puma is a ferocious animal , attacking even the much stronger jaguar .