President Bush’s fault, plus global warming
A college bar near my house is reportedly full of cougars every weekend.
In case they didn’t know, a cougar was recently shot by police on the North Side of Chicago. I think that qualifies as a “confirmed sighting.”
Just because mountain lions are sighted occasionally does not mean there is a reproducing population in the region.
It’s called: “Nature.”
The standard line of the anti-hunting econuts is that the only reason for increased attacks on humans and pets by cougars (and coyotes and bears) is that we are expanding into their territory. The fact is any preditor will expand it’s range until it is either killed off by other preditors (humans), or has insufficent food and water to support itself. Coyotes, used to be only in the southwest, are now nationwide. Black bears and cougars are moving into populated areas where they had been eliminated for decades due to huning bans (eg. bears in New Jersey, cougars in CA). Hunting (optimally with dogs) both reduces numbers and creates a healthy (for both the animals and humans) fear of humans and dogs in the critters.
Watch the populations of these indigenous creatures to explode in the next couple of years.
I live in Western saint Lucie County, Florida at a rural airpark of 100 homesites of about 4 to 7 acres with about 50 of them with homes or hangers. We are surrounded by cattle farms and citrus farms.
Just yesterday we saw a Florida Panther walk by my home and hanger. Just a pup, and ya knew her momma was nearby. Didn’t see her though. But have many times in the past.
They are a cousin or brother of the mountain lion and just a magnificent creature.
A few folks in the park I’d like to see it take out but that is a different story.