A picture of one just like this was captured last week on a trail cam in Chipley, Florida. I saw the picture. I don’t know if the Eastern Mountain Lion is the same as the Florida panther but the one I saw looked exactly like this picture.
My understanding is that the Florida Panther has been removed from all endangered/threatened lists worldwide since DNA testing determined it to be identical to the western mountain lion/puma/cougar.
My assumption is that the Eastern Mountain Lion is also identical to the western mountain lion/puma/cougar. Rather than admitting that the Eastern Mountain Lion never existed as a separate distinct species, the neo-pagans declare it extinct.