Pumas and Pinafores

This evening Jules and Alex settled down in their cozy apartment for an evening of Christmas movies.  All week we have watched our favorite Christmas movies and tonight's selection was Little Women.  We had the normal Little Women arguments about why Laurie and Jo are supposed to end up together and how boring Prof. Bhaer is since he is into philosophy (and since Jo is marry Prof. Bhaer people will be forever spelling her last name wrong).  Jules and Alex tend to argue a lot while watching movies in an attempt to rile one another up. 
However, midway through the movie our interests were diverted to another topic altogether.  Jules turned to Alex and simply stated: Last weekend I watched YouTube clips of mountain lions in Nebraska.  Jules is forever surprising Alex with her comments out of the blue such as this one.  Alex's first question was what in the world possessed you to research the mountain lion population in Nebraska?  As it turns out mountain lions have been the subject conversations with co-workers, books we have been reading, and discussions at the family Thanksgiving gathering.  We proceeded to stop Little Women (after all mountain lions are more exciting than fine society) and watch a few videos about mountain lions including how to find mountain lion scat and analyze it. 
We also read about the confirmed sightings of mountain lions in Missouri over the past 20 years and what to do if you see a mountain lion.  Just FYI if you see a mountain lion: Back away slowly (don't run) and remain calm (yeah right). Make yourself look bigger and grab any small children so they don't get eaten as a quick appetizer.  If it is aggressive then throw rocks or sticks at it (without crouching down or turning your back so you still look big-- how does this work?  In my experience rocks and sticks are usually on the ground and I'm not sure how to get something off the ground without crouching unless I carry a supply of rocks and sticks in my pockets.) Fight back if it attacks-- it may back away once it has seen that you are armed with sticks, garden tools, or your bare hands.  If these tips fail you, don't worry.  Mountain lions are known to kill their prey quickly and efficiently so it won't be that bad...for long.  If you do happen to survive you are to contact the Mountain Lion Response Team.  (This sounds like something that would be cool to put on a resume... Essential member of mountain lion response team dealing with "reported" sightings or tracks that turn out to be Felis catus- aka the house cat). 
Now while this information may seem completely irrelevant to two city dwellers such as ourselves, mountain lions have actually made the newspaper recently in Alex's hometown--actually it has been some of the only news.  A few months ago video footage of a mountain lion was captured on a wildlife camera about three miles out of town.  There have been rumors about mountain lions in the area for years but this was some of the first video evidence that the Kansas Department of Wildlife has confirmed.  As Alex goes home for Christmas break it might actually come in handy knowing how to deal with mountain lion encounters.  
Needless to say, we will probably never watch Little Women again without thinking about mountain lions.

Mountain Lion Scat