 Life expectancy in the wild is reported at eight to 13 years , and probably averages eight to 10 ; a female of at least 18 years was reported killed by hunters on Vancouver Island . Cougars may live as long as 20 years in captivity . One male North American cougar ( P. c. couguar ) , named Scratch , was two months short of his 30th birthday when he died in 2007 . Causes of death in the wild include disability and disease , competition with other cougars , starvation , accidents , and , where allowed , human hunting . Feline immunodeficiency virus , an endemic HIV @-@ like virus in cats , is well @-@ adapted to the cougar . 
 Life expectancy in the wild is reported at eight to 13 years , and probably <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>averages</mark></a> eight to 10 ; a female of at least 18 years was reported killed by hunters on Vancouver Island . Cougars may live as long as 20 years in captivity . One male North American cougar ( P. c. couguar ) , named Scratch , was two months short of his 30th birthday when he died in 2007 . Causes of death in the wild include disability and disease , competition with other cougars , starvation , accidents , and , where allowed , human hunting . Feline immunodeficiency virus , an endemic HIV @-@ like virus in cats , <a href='drop_aux' title='2'><mark>is</mark></a>well @-@ adapted to the cougar . 
Life expectancy in the wild is reported at eight to 13 years , and probably average eight to 10 ; a female of at least 18 yrs was reported killed by hunters on Vancouver Island . Cougars may live as long as 20 years in captivity . One male North American cougar ( P. c. couguar ) , named Scratch , was 2 months short of his 30th birthday when he died in 2007 . Causes of death in the wild include disability and disease , competition with other cougars , starvation , accidents , and , where allowed , human huntin . Feline immunodeficiency virus , an endemic HIV @-@ like virus in cats , well @-@ adapted to the cougar .