I was reading all the replies to this post and became interested. I don't know about Ohio, W. Virginia, Illinois, or any other state in the general area, but I do know that there are mountain lions east of the Mississippi in states other than Florida. I live in Alabama and personally saw a mountain lion, brown (not black) and have a plaster cast of the track made on sight after the sighting. The cast was confirmed, by a biologist, to be that of a mountain lion. I saw this while deer hunting and had the cat 20 yards under my tree in broad daylight. No bobcat, no housecat. I live in a rural area and noone within miles has a "pet" mountain lion. I asked about shooting the animal if another sighting occured and was told, by a game warden, that even though they were not native to Alabama there would be a hefty fine should I be caught. There were stories done in local papers featuring pictures of the cast throughtout the area but no national media convergence as some of you suggest. There are bigger stories in the world that a mountain lion in the eastern part of th U.S. Now if a mountain lion escaped from a zoo or any other type of enclosure, then yes the public would be notified. After my encounter I did extensive research on these animals and it is not at all surprising that there are lots of sightings in the east. They are very clever animals, which are mostly nocturnal, and have an enourmous range. One could literally be in my yard now and in the next county by this time next week. I'm not suggesting there is an abundant population, because I do not believe there is, but there are enough to sustain their existence here. I'm not here to argue, nor will I, just share some personal experience. Just because there aren't alot of sightings doesn't mean they don't live in your area. In my 25 years of hunting I've never saw one until this encounter. I've also only saw two bobcats in those 25 years of hunting the same property. Does this mean those are the only two on the property? I doubt it. There are alot of remote places for a wild animal to live without ever encountering a human. For those of you who don't believe a mountain lion is possible in the east, will see how your opinion is changed when you have one face to face with you in it's natural surroundings. Remeber....they eat meat!