It's the Eye of the Cougar

Having just visited Glacier National Park in Montana last month, I have had close encounters with mountain lions recently on my mind. Though more likely to see a grizzly bear at Glacier (cougars are very 'reclusive'), mountain lions, or pumas, do reside in Glacier National Park. Apparently these fine wild cats have made somewhat of a resurgence in the past decades in the United States. The puma has always resided in Florida, but now lives in the mid-area of the U.S. stretching from Texas to North Dakota. The largest population of cougars aggregates in the Dakotas and Nebraska. However, more mid-Western states have had sightings. Last year a mountain lion was found in Chicago!

A few sightings have occurred in the Northeast. In fact, my friend J.D.'s Mom is pretty sure she saw a puma meandering in the hills of NH. While others may have thought she was going "off the deep end," she was later vindicated by an article in a nearby newspaper confirming that other folks had seen a mountain lion in the area. Naturalists, however, do not think there's a viable population of mountain lions in New England. The cats are likely escaped pets.
________________________________________National Geographic Data