lionsandtigers

I think its pathetic that people on this site have so little to do with their time that they spend it like middle school students by posting sarcastic replies to people seeking genuine answers to questions. Are these adults? I guess some are stuck in perpetual adolescence.

The smallest one looks like a raccoon rather than a cat. None look like mountain lions to me although I believe they are more common than many have suggested-these just don't seem to be at all similar to mountain lions.

"Wildlife officials in most eastern states claim that the cougar or, mountain lion, as it is also known is mostly extinct east of the Mississippi. Apparently, all of the cougars haven’t gotten the memo because there continue to be reports of the big cats in the east. Recently three cougars were seen outside of Baltimore, Maryland. Just prior to those sightings, a cougar was reported in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There have also been other reported sightings in Virginia, Massachusetts and New York."

It is still 2013 "A cougar has been shot and killed in Illinois. The animal was killed by a wildlife official and is reported to be between five and a half feet to six feet in length with a weight of over a hundred pounds." but it was really the ghost of the mountain lion that was killed in CT a couple of years ago, That was a captive cat let loose and run over by a car. If there were real mountain lions in Illinois, ct or NY we'd see them.all these are mirages or people mistaking children for mountain lions.

"The Missouri Department of Conservation has confirmed the sighting of a mountain lion on private land in Shannon County approximately nine miles west of Eminence. The confirmation is based on this trail camera photo taken Sept. 29, 2013. The name of the landowner and the property location are not being released at the request of the landowner" Obviously the DOC is mistaking a small child for a mountain lion. They both have eyes nose and mouth so that must be why they are so confused!.

There are no mountain lions in Illinois. There may be pics on trail cam but it is one lone mountain lion that was traveling from Missouri to Ill to get into pictures. It is a released captive cat because there are no mountain lions in Illinois. If there were any, we'd see them.

It is now 2013. There are no mountain lions in Missouri. There are photos of mountain lions taken this year in Warren, Carter, PUlaski, Shannon, Reynolds and Midison County but it is probably really just one lone mountain lions who gets around, if you know what I mean. If there really were mountain lions in Missouri we would see them.

It is now 2012. There are no mountain lions in Missouri. Verified pictures, video and sightings have been reported from Reynolds, Grundy, Shannon Ripley, Taney, DeKalb, Carter and Warren County but there are no mountain lions in Missouri. Those sightings were probably all the same mountain lion released from captivity.

It is now 2011. There are no mountain lions in Missouri. If there were, we would see them. Yeah there were confirmed sightings and pics from mtion activated game cameras-at least 13 this year-but that was a mirage and a mistake. There are no known mountain lions in Missouri.

It is now 2010. There are no mountain lions in Missouri. People reporting them are really mistaking small children for mountain lions. Yeah their are photos (2 in 2010; 2 in 2006) but if there were really mountain lions around we would see them. Yeah there was one killed in 2002 but that was probably just a captive one let loose.

It is not 2001. There are no mountain lions in Missouri. Well, there was a video taken in December 2000 and a photo the next year but those were only captive lions let loose. If there were mountain lions we would see them. There would be dead ones in the road and pics.

It is now 1999. There are no mountain lions in Missouri. Well there was a lion treed in January but that was probably a mountain lion raised in captivity and there were a few earlier but same thing. There are no resident mountain lions in Missouri. It there were, we'd see them. They are all bogus reports. people see a squirrel and think it is a mountain lion. Again, there are no mountain lions in Missouri.

It is now 1997. There have been no confirmed reports. Well, there was one in January but it was one that was raised in captivity and let go. There are not mountain lions in Missouri.

There are no lions in Missouri. There hasn't been a sighting since 1994. If there were any we'd see them.

Also WNYBuckHunter, You are correct. I don't know what various unusual animals look like. I still don't know many. Now I know the ones that were on the original list that the dispatcher told me. After she told me that the animal was no longer there, I asked her what it could have been. So, she listed about 10 animals that could be red (orange, tan, tawny-similar to the color of some orange tabby cats). I took the list and googled each one looking for features that matched the ones I knew were present. Long tail that did not taper, round face, etc. Before I did that, I had no idea what a lynx or a bob cat or a mountain lion looked like. I cared only to the extent that I did not like having seen something i could not identify. That is a very unsettling feeling. So, I looked every one of the animals she mentioned up on google images even the ones I was pretty certain I knew. Fox, for instance. Well I was pretty sure that a fox would not have those features-but maybe there was a variant that did. So I looked them all up. So, I certainly acknowledge that I did not immediately think I saw a mountain lion. Nope. In fact, when the dispatcher started to list the animals I initially laughed because some seemed absurd. I was not inclined to jump at the idea that I saw a mountain lion because I did not know any of those animals were anywhere in this country except the zoo. Lynx, bob cat mountain lion, are you kidding me? So, all were equally implausible to me. I knew that there were bears in the area because a few years before there was a problem in Vestal with bears. They were getting into garbage and were hanging out in some of the newer developments on South Mountain. But, nobody had ever mentioned that there were these other things roaming out there-like bob cats and lynx. Anyway, I did not immediately identify the name of the animal I saw and I am willing to believe I did not exhaust all the possibilities. But, they have to match-round face with cat like features reminding me of a raccoon due to the markings, But I simply could not find anything else that had the features that I saw. The tail was unmistakable because it was noticeably different from a tabby cats. I do know a lot about domestic cats.