The DNR's official policy here used to be that cougars didn't exist. They based this on the fact that no DNR employee had seen one. So if you reported one they would tell you either you had seen a lynx or were mistaken.
That changed when a guy called them and said I'd like to report a cougar. The DNR told him he was mistaken/lynx. He told them Really, then what do I have locked in my garage? He came home and pulled up to the open door of the garage and in his headlights was a 100 lb cat. He hit the remote door closer and went and got his camera.
This happened in a residential area of a small farm town South of here.
