Or cougar, puma etc. All the same animal, but what it's called varies by region. Here, we call them cougars or mountain lions, and there's questions about whether they still exist in the northeast. If so, it's in *very* small numbers. 

Apparently in California, a human was killed by a mountain lion for the first time in 20 years. The entire state had 3 fatal attacks since 1994 before this. It's very rare for an encounter between humans and mountain lions to result in a fatality...126 attacks have been documented in 100 years in *all of north America*, only 27 were fatal. However, mountain lion populations are increasing since the mid 1900s, after almost being hunted to extinction, thanks to conservation efforts. Since they tend to be solitary and territorial, this means instead of more lions in certain areas, it means the lions are spreading into new territory (with the exception of areas with a lot of younger mountain lions, who will eventually spread out). And humans are basically doing the same, especially out west-people are developing more and more land and encroaching on the habitat of a lot of wildlife. This can create a perfect storm for attacks, which is apparently happening in Oregon. The state is trying to aggressively reduce its population, which is much more dense than pretty much anywhere else currently. One way they're going about it is by allowing hunting...but that actually might be making it worse. Hunters like to target mature animals because they're bigger and more impressive. Sounds great right? Big males can make a lot of babies. Except...mature mountain lions are the *least* likely to attack humans. They have developed an aversion to people and avoid us. So if hunters remove a lot of the more mature lions, that leaves more resources for the juveniles, who have not developed a fear of people, haven't gotten great at hunting, and are willing to live close to other lions. You end up with a lot of mountain lions with no fear of people and essentially, no impulse control (think of a 6-12 month old kitten...crazy and into everything, attacking anything that moves, etc). So the implications of this could be really bad, although it's still early, and so far no statistics show an increase in attacks.

What should you do if you come in contact with a mountain lion? Basically, a mix of common sense and ignoring all of your instincts. Never approach them or corner them (duh), but do NOT run. Maintain eye contact, wave your arms slowly or open your jacket to look bigger, and speak in a loud, firm voice, and wait for them to move on. If you do get attacked, fight like hell. Most of the time they'll give up. Since prevention is better than reaction, if you live in an area with mountain lions, be alert around dusk and dawn when they're most active, avoid walking alone and keep pets leashed and kids close to you. And remember that you literally have a better chance of being struck by lightning than being attacked by a cougar. 

And now I need to feed my little lions. Especially Karrik, who is basically the description of the juvenile mountain lions with all the energy and none of the impulse control..good thing he's cute and sweet enough to get away with it..