They shot the wild cat with a bean bag gun? Is it me, or is that absolutely stupid? So the animal can now move on to the next yard full of kids and maybe score a nice big meal? Stunning. Dad should have had a gun - that’s what they’re for. Protecting your family from savages - both the two and four legged variety.
It is stupid in my opinion. Wild animals are smarter than people think, and somehow they share knowledge. Around here the squirrels saunter away and climb up the front side of the tree if you come outside with nothing in your hands. If you come outside with either a firearm, or what looks like one, they run like rockets in a zig-zag pattern and climb the back side of the tree.
They aren't fooled by colorful toy guns, but they run like h.... at the sight of a Glock or a Ruger 10-22.
The mountain lion is smarter than a squirrel. The reason animals stayed away from people in the 1960s and 1970s is that they didn't want to get shot. They knew what happened to their friends, so they stayed away from people.