A problem with your conclusion
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These animals have been evolving for thousands of years to be as stealthy as possible
And yet a breeding population that was so small, that the entire sub-species would have died out in a few decades without human intervention
http://www.tampabay.com/environment/...says-20190719/
left a LOT of proof of their presence.
I find it difficult to conclude that a LARGER breeding population of cougars -- remember, it MUST be larger than the one that was easy to spot in Florida, or it would died out -- has existed north of there for a far longer period without leaving any physical evidence of the presence of a breeding colony.
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These animals live in Appalachia
Nobody denies this. Illegal pets have been released into the wild. Male cougars have traversed 1000s of kilometers in the fruitless search for a female.
Neither of these is a sustainable breeding colony that has existed for decades.
If you want to insist, "The fact that no evidence exists for a breeding colony north of Florida is PROOF of a cover-up," please understand why I disagree.
BTW, neither is "I heard from a friend of a friend that THEY are covering this up." These stories are VERY good at creating paranoia, but they're not very good as evidence of reality.
Cougars can EASILY be seen by car drivers
Indeed, the problem is that cars HIT cougars.
http://www.fox13news.com/news/florid...orida-panthers
There are about 100 to 200 adults panthers in Florida, about the MINIMUM number to have a sustainable breeding colony. If there are cougars in Appalachia, their population MUST be AT LEAST that number, or they would have died out in a few decades.
In Florida, that number of cougars has resulted in 147 deaths by vehicles in the last five years.
How many cougars have been killed by vehicles in Appalachia in the last five decades?