i think it's common for them to be in trees, especially with a kill. I know he saw two in trees while in idaho. He was on a guided hunt for elk. I know one of the cats he saw on the ground at a very close range (20-30 yards) then it ran up into a tree. Very heavy cover where he was at also, he almost stepped on a bear to.

No secret, I don't know what it was. Just that it was substantially smaller than a deer. Probably in the 20-30 lbs range.
-Jake

So why did you conclude that a mountain lion hauled it up a tree?If it was small,why wouldn't it have eaten it on the spot.Mountain lions bury their prey.They don't haul it up in trees.If you found a small dead animal in a tree,it most likely was flown up there by a bird of prey.

I would be more inclined to think that a cougar would drag something that weigh's 20 to 30 pounds up a tree as opposed to any type of bird currently in existence flying up into a tree with that type of weight.

I've always wondered what possible reason or motivation anyone could ever have to make a intentionally false claim of a mountain lion sighting in an eastern state. The typical result of such a claim is nothing more than a heavy dose of public ridicule...so who would do it if they didn't honestly believe that they had seen one? Granted, some folks are obviously mistaken...they see a large domestic cat, or a glimpse of a tan dog...or they lack the knowledge to properly identify the sign left behind. But I still believe that the sheer numbers of claims made each year, in many different eastern states suggests that SOME of these sightings are legitimate. Why does it seem in every case, that the state wildlife agencies who investigate are much more intent on quickly downplaying and dismissing the incident than conducting a THOROUGH investigation? Obviously IF they exist in the northeast it is in very small fragmented numbers in isolated pockets, but of greater importance is the sharp increase in sightings reported in recent years. I believe it's only a matter of time. The truth will eventually vindicate those of us who have endured the ridicule.

Ok, after reading all this, here is what I got. One folks in PA and OH, even MD are ate up with the idea that Mt Lions are in the areas. Two, there was not one newspaper article, not one credible bit of proof besides, my buddy saw one, and here's some prints in the snow, not one dead carcuss, or one credible animal. And you got one guy saying he knows someone that got a ticket from the DNR (which not one article on the ticket), and the animal isn't even protected in this state.

What is it about PA and OH guys that brings out the liar in them when it comes to Mt. Lions?

I take it you'v enever seen any of the pictures posted on here of obvious bobcats.The posts go on for days and days with poeple claiming these bobcats are mountain lions.Some accounts are flat out lies and some people definately think they saw something that they didn't really see.Let's see some real verifiable proof.We had snow cover for over 5 months last year.Not one track was found.How can that be?

Think that "liar", "crazy," and visually impaired were used quite frequently in reference to folks who reported seeing cougars in Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois. Was not much of any supporting proof of the existence of the cats in those states until the day that dead ones started turning up. Not saying that I believe the vast majority of reports coming out of places like Ohio, but given the documented eastward spread of mountain lions over the last couple decades, I'm not going to dismiss all of them either.

I don't think anyone has stated that it would be impossible to have a mountain lion in either state.Unfortunately,despite the thousands of sightings,no positive proof has ever been confirmed.The vast majority of people simply have no idea what they're seeing.Dig up some old threads with poitive proof and you'll see what I'm talking about.People think housecats and bobcats are mountain lions.Mountain lions leave sign.In PA,THEY MUST NOT EAT OR WALK ON THE SURFACE.

I don't know much about the Chicago incident. But in the instances of the other two Illinois cougars, they were found in fairly rural and remote portions of the state. Don't recall that there were ever any coinciding confirmed sightings, game camera pictures (even though one was found dead during deer season), tracks, feces, kill sites, etc. in those exact areas. Rather you had pretty much the same sort of unconfirmed reports that we are hearing from Ohio and PA. Most people, including myself, laughed at those reports in Illinois until one day a dead one pretty much just appeared out of nowhere. So, now I keep an open mind.