Sightings in Kentucky and surrounding states

Sightings becoming more common in Kentucky, and other states east of the Mississippi River. Of course, the wildlife agencies are
claiming these are misidentifications etc etc, or released pets (exotics).

One was recently euthanized that was treed in Kentucky. A local citizen emailed Rob Anderson of Kentucky Wildlife,
and asked what was legal to do if he encountered one deer hunting:

Beginning of email:
To: FW Info Center
Subject: Mountain lion

If I see a mountain lion while out deer hunting in KY, can I shoot it?
And what Reg. covers this.

Thank You
Jeff

This is the reply:
Jeff,
Yes you can shoot it, and the reason is that it's considered a exotic
species. If you do shoot one let us know , because we would love to see
the evidence..thanks and have a good day.

Rob Anderson
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife
#1 Sportsman's Lane
Frankfort, KY 40601
1-800-852-0942 ext. 4438
[email protected]
End of Email

Problem is, the one euthanized was determined NOT to be an exotic. There IS NO SUCH species as the Eastern Mountain Lion based on
recent DNA research. They are all one species. So to claim its an "invasive" or "Exotic" is not correct, it shows a clear lack of understanding
of the species. Watch out for this in local states. And the automatic assumption that its an "exotic" is clearly wrong.

Addendum: Since I posted this, I received a flame email saying there was no such study. In fact, there were a couple. Reference: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4094651?sid=21104931231581&uid=2129&uid=70&uid=2&uid=4