The difference between an isolated lion sighting that may be a wild lion moving in or a captive escapee is the point here. I dont know how many ways to say it. Thats a far cry from them moving in and setting up housekeeping for good. You know what they say about beating a dead horse though, so Ill drop this and let the folks who think theyre making a comeback get their "welcome lions" signs in place. Wolves in Maine? They were there when I hunted spring bears in Maine, and that was 20 years ago. Moose in the northeast is a tricky one, as their susceptible to brainworm, which deer carry. So, as deer advance, moose retreat. Nature does a great job of making sure they dont need to compete for browse at two levels. Brainworm creates that buffer zone. As browse becomes more mature, deer and brainworm recede, and moose thrive. Old growth gets too tall, neither does well. Old growth comes down or burns, moose flourish...until the deer move back.

Jhoffman, I see our grey fox numbers go up and down near me. I believe distemper really hurt our greys. My friends from other areas always note how once coyotes get established, reds and greys are gone, yet by me this doesnt seem to be the case. My theory is with all the roadways and plentiful prey and roadkills, all three show stable numbers, and less competition. In more open and truly rural areas, coyotes again take over. Thats just my opinion this time, though. Oh, and around here, guys have coyote contests, run them with dogs, and trap them hard. How about by you?