[at-l] Mountain Lions in Smoky?

[stephensadams at hotmail.com (Steve Adams)]

Kinnickinic,

Reference your post, dated 12-12-03.

You asked, “Have you read ... about the possible presence of mountain lions 
in the (GSMNP) park?”

You advised, “The suspicion is that, if true, the lions are human raised and 
released.”

Mountain lions have been suspected in another park for several years.

Years ago, I was hiking along the AT in a park and saw tracks in snow which 
looked suspiciously cat-like.  Large cat-like.

I spoke with a park ranger, some weeks later, who reported driving to work 
early one morning, a couple of weeks before our conversation, and observing 
a mountain lion walking along the center line of a highway which crosses the 
park.  The lion didn’t panic when her truck approached just ambled off the 
highway and into the park woods, heading toward the general area in which I 
had observed the above tracks.  She asked her rider if she had seen 
anything.  Her rider asked, “You mean that mountain lion?”

Since that time, other park rangers have advised me, park rangers have 
reported more sightings, both before and after the incidents, above, of 
mountain lion within the park.

The Park Service doesn’t want to officially claim such a sighting until they 
have good photographic proof.

The speculation has been the lions migrated from Canada.

I spoke with a mountain lion specialist, working for the Ministry of Natural 
Resources, Ontario, Canada, who seemed surprised by mountain lion sightings 
that far east although he considered they are possible.

I have not heard a rumor of mountain lions released after human habituation.

Steve

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