Thanks for the great comments Harshad. After the puma sighting my wife and I just bubbled over. So exciting to see such a gorgeous cat so close.
Frankly I am quite shocked to hear you say that my puma photo might be the first ever wild puma shown on BPN. I am so sad to hear such a thing.
Sadly there seems to be confirmation on another post where I asked BPNers where I could go to see wildcats in N.America (
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...415#post613415 ).
The response was 'Nowhere'.
I really have to chastise Americans for this. Despite hunting in Africa - in the past and present - we still have areas where big cats can live without fear of hunting. Not just big cats - but also servals and caracals can be seen in our protected areas. Same story in India - where tigers, leopards, lions and jungle cats can all be seen with relative ease.
I would be so pleased to hear of any projects where habituated American cats are being used to bring in eco-tourists. You would be amazed at the 'monetary' value the cats would have. People from all over would come to see and photograph pumas, bobcats and lynx. Its about time the balance of hunters to non-hunters was evened out.