Down the Rabbit Hole

In Search of Mountain Lions...

It was strangely disappointing to learn that the recent local Mountain Lion sightings have been attributed to the same wayward animal that met its ultimately demise on a Connecticut highway. It was even more disappointing when the recent necropsy revealed this was a cat from South Dakota, and not a member of an elusive and isolated population living and thriving undetected in our part of the world. There was something exciting about the possibility of a group of pumas defying science and geographical boundaries. It brings a certain mystery to the daily grind, a "what if?" quality that sparks imaginations and fuels great stories. I understand that mountain lions are hardly on the same caliber as the Lochness monster or Bigfoot, but I think the premise is the same...there is an attraction in the wondering, in the speculating, in the "what if?" There are so few mysteries in life these days, why not cling to the small ones we still can? For the record, I still believe there are mountain lions living among us. My cousin and her husband saw one cross the road and scale up a fifty foot wall right in front of their car two summers ago. My sister recently encountered what she described as a big, jet black, very muscular cat outside her horse barn at two am. I wouldn't mind seeing something like that, as long as there was a wall, thick glass or significant distance between me and it. I say, "let there be lions!"...they are so much cooler than those pesky fisher cats!