BS call on the current media reports of game cam video of a "female cougar with cubs" near Lebanon, Tennessee. Very obvious in the clip that the two cubs most prominently visible are half-grown bobcats (short tails).

That said, there are persistent reports of sightings of a grown cougar and two cubs in the Beasleys Bend area in northeast Wilson County. I know a couple of the people who claim to have seen them, and they are sane, sober, outdoor types, not the sort of folks who would tell wild tales. Withholding judgment myself until concrete evidence appears, but given my habit of ALWAYS being adequately equipped when I'm out and about, I ain't gonna git all skeered about the prospect of sharing our territory with big kittycats. Damm wild/feral pigs bother me a lot more - and if'n the painters eat the piggies I'm just fine with that.

At a Cub Scout meeting that there aren't any. They claim a female or two may wander through once in a while. I don't believe them.

On social media I've seen several photos of supposedly local game cam photos of big cats in our area. Back in the 60's there were a few around, I saw them personally. Like most, I was reluctant to believe it until I saw it with my own two eyes. Up until a few years back, I hadn't heard of any sightings of big cats in our area. Then, a few reports started popping up. While not a lot of sightings, the Oklahoma Fish & Wildlife Department finally confirmed we do have a small population it seems. It took them about 4-5 years after people began reporting it before they finally admitted they are indeed in our area.

Murphy

Cougars, like most felines, are curious critters and will roam far and wide looking for something they can eat or play with, or a good quiet place where they can live undisturbed. Males especially will roam hundreds of miles looking for females. I don't have any doubt that there are transient animals that pass through Tennessee from time to time. Whether or not we have any resident cats is another story, especially in the more densely settled areas.

A few years ago we had a humongous male bobcat that passed through from time to time. I tracked him in a fresh snow one day all the way across our place. It was interesting to see how he would detour to investigate a hollow tree or log, then return to his route along an old logging road. He must have covered a couple of miles wandering on our property, then crossed the creek onto the neighbor's place and went on east.

Haven't seen any trace of him in a couple of years now.

Fish and Game people here are the same Murphy.

They deny the existence of many things that we see in the woods.

Big cats, bears... they don't exist... kinda.

A few years ago... a lady hit (and killed) a black bear on the Bluegrass Parkway at about the 42 mile marker.

There was a picture in the local paper that was hard to deny.

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