From: bowman@montana.com   
      
   On Tue, 11 Feb 2025 17:13:55 -0600, Snag wrote:   
      
   >   We "Don't have a breeding population of mountain lions" here in north   
   > central Arkansas according to AGFC ... well , that's bullshit , too many   
   > sightings . But they're pretty shy here . On the other hand my neighbor   
   > wishes he had shot that bobcat his little 20 lb dog treed a few weeks   
   > ago . It came back the next day and ate their last Guinea hen .   
      
   Back in the '60s the NYS Conservation Department swore there were no   
   coyotes in the state. After people started leaving dead coyotes on their   
   doorstep they said 'Well, maybe'.   
      
   There were campfire stories about catamounts and disappearing hikers but I   
   those were long gone.   
      
   https://vermonthistoryexplorer.org/the-last-catamount-in-vermont   
      
   But maybe...   
      
   https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/eastern-cougar/sightings   
      
   The Conservation Department changed their name over the years. I guess   
   they wanted something fancier and environmentally friendly. They're   
   probably not lying about releasing cats to eat the deer but I'm sure   
   they've thought about it. Anybody who thinks all of NY is like NYC never   
   has been upstate.   
      
   They're around but I've only seen one bobcat here. In my encounters with   
   the big kitties they looked curious but that little cat was looking at me   
   like he was figuring out some way to kill and eat me.   
      
   I was hiking in the Owyhee in Nevada and came back on the same trail maybe   
   an hour later. There was a rabbit head in the trail. No blood, just a head   
   that looked like it had been surgically removed. I figured that was a   
   bobcat's work. It was eerie in any case.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)