[Jason_G]

Thanks for this thread. I have been wondering the same things.

I also want to add, for anyone in the southeastern US reading this thread, that just because you think you are not in cat country doesn't necessarily make it so. I live in northwest Louisiana, and I have been told since I was a young boy that there are no mountain lions/pumas/cougars/whatever in our area, by game wardens and the like. They have always claimed that any reported sightings were just the product of a bobcat or coyote in conjunction with a wild imagination.

Well, fast forward to when I was about 17, deer hunting in a box stand during the early part of the season. Out of a thicket to my right comes a mountain lion. About 10-15 yds away. I could have thrown a rock and hit it, so there was no mistaking it for a bobcat. Not the same size, not the same coloration, and definitely not the same bobbed tail. There was absolutely no doubt what it was. I was half contemplating shooting it, because I knew no one would believe me without proof, but I knew that wouldn't be right, so I let it creep on out of sight. It was the first and only one I have ever seen, but obviously they are out there. I told some folks about what I saw, and it was met with mixed reception, some saying "yeah I know we have 'em", and some saying "aww, you saw a bobcat or coyote or something".

Fast forward another ten years or so, and they actually capture a mountain lion around Natchitoches, LA, a city in the central part of the state.

Hard for the game wardens to argue now.

The reason I tell this is that just because some biologist with a map or a game warden says they are not in a particular area doesn't make it so. If you are in the south eastern US, watch your surroundings closely when you are in the woods. The west/northwest is not the only part of the country that has 'em.

Jason