When i first started bowhunting 25 years ago i knew of 4 different people in my area that had them for pets. I agree with fastetti thinking that a few of these "pets" would easily be too much for someone to handle when they matured and could have been released or simple got out of their enclosure. Although a few of the reported killings the last ew years have proven that they were infact wild animals, not pen raised.

It not at all illegal to shoot a mountain lion in Iowa....yet. I'm sure sooner or later the "antis" will make sure they are protected.

I'm not disproving the OP's belief but i do think alot of the sightings in the state are from people that couldn't tell a cat from a mountain lion. As a matter of fact, last week i saw a video on Youtube that a lady in Iowa City made of what she thought was a mountain lion walking around her housing edition, which was really only a large housecat. She was clueless.