I have a co-worker who is from Omaha. He said years ago a cougar was spotted running down the main artery inside the city limits. Cougars have now been spotted not from where I live in western Wisconsin. There are regular bear colonies now in western Wisconsin, and it’s only a matter of time before a cougar gets itself killed... shot or run over. Still waiting on reports of a Wisconsin hogzilla. There’s loads of wild pigs running loose in the counties south of mine, but I haven’t seen any or heard reports of any wild pigs in my county, La Crosse.
You missed the Chicago cougar: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-04-15/news/0804140895_1_cougar-illinois-north-side