Tennessee Mountain Lion

From ABC TV in Tennessee comes news that Tennessee has the makings of a potential population of breeding mountain lions:

Tennessee wildlife officials have now confirmed at least three cougar sightings in the state. One of the three encounters has been confirmed to have been a female, an indication that it is at least possible that a breeding population could establish itself in Tennessee.

The picture, above, is from a trail camera in Humphreys County, bordering Kentucky Lake, west of Nashville.

DNA analysis shows that the female lion, like the male lions found in Chicago, Connecticut, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky, came out of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Tennessee wildlife officials say cougars are a protected species which cannot be hunted or killed until a hunting or trapping season is established by the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission, the governing body of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency .