Correct me if I'm wrong, but in my readings cougard sightings are being documented more and more often in the midwest and east. Actually, several years ago there was a sighting' of a cougar in Virginia. No visual evidence, just a blurry still photo. Still, this was before photoshop and it looked EERILY similar to a big cat. It really is scary. These cats can kill up to 30 deer per year, individually.