Crossword Genius

On the contrary, by morning is awake to see wild animal (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

puma

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'wild animal' is the definition.
'puma' can be an answer for 'animal' (thesaurus). I am not certain of the 'wild' bit.

'on the contrary by morning is awake' is the wordplay.
'on the contrary' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (letters in the opposite or contrary direction).
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'morning' becomes 'am' (as in 12:00 AM).
'is awake' becomes 'up' (similar in meaning).
'am'+'up' is 'amup'.
'amup' reversed gives 'PUMA'.

'to see' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for puma that I've seen before include "Large wild American feline" , "Cougar" , "International rugby player" , "American wildcat" , "Large mountain cat" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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