Re(5): Canadian DNA results on Cougar evidence IP: 173.87.200.62 Posted on May 30, 2016 at 12:12:19 PM by Helen McGinnis
Last year there were six confirmations in western Tennessee, including one with DNA evidence showing it was a female. They trend east. (Dispersing pumas often travel in compass directions.) The last was on December 18th. That was in the middle of the deer season, when the woods were presumably filled with armed humans. I fear she was illegally killed but the killing was not reported. Or she may have died from the arrow wound. Hunters set out so many remote cameras and videos these days, and so many people have cell phones handy, that many dispersing pumas are documented multiple times. On the hopeful side, if she's still alive, she's most likely to be documented again in late summer thru the winter. No live males have been documented nearby.
Why don't you plot out all your evidence, with localities and references? I recommend ignoring all evidence over 10 years old. Pumas rarely live 10 years in the wild. If they haven't produced offspring by then, they shouldn't be considered. Replies: