This reminds me of a story I heard from an attendee who was at a meeting in Thief River Falls, MN a few years ago. The meeting was presided over by MN DNR who were hosting a public meeting. One of the attendees inquired if there was a hunting season on cougars/mountain lions in MN. The reply was the official "There are no Mountain Lions/ Cougars in MN". The questioner then asked if it would be okay to shoot the big long tailed cats and babies that were denned along a ditch on a local gravel road outside of town. The response was a prompt and emphatic "NO, we have been watching them".
