rm76, the problem with publishing game camera photos of big black kitties is that under the Endangered Species Act, if a species is found to be rare at the edges of its range, even if it is common elsewhere (see: Bull trout), it can be declared "endangered" in that area. Which means all sorts of problems for farmers, ranchers, hunters, and landowners in general. I recall when some "endangered" cave bugs were found (actually, species that evolved in just one cave) near us in central Texas. It is a karst limestone terrain, full of small to large caves, many interconnected for miles with multiple entrances. There is actually a cave complex that runs from Lake Austin to underneath the State capitol in Austin, several miles.
The endangered cave bug caused all new construction to halt until surveys had been done to determine if there were any caves on the property. And interestingly, used bug bombs were found in many of the caves that were researched. Then when the Golden Cheeked Warbler and Black Capped Vireo were found to be endangered in central Texas, F&W called meetings in several counties to discuss how they were going to deal with the issue. F&W were going to make it illegal to cut down cedar trees, among other things. In Williamson County, the F&W guys stood to make their presentation to the angry crowd of ranchers and farmers; a voice from the back shouted, "I got some tar and feathers in the truck!", and the government guys hastily left. The next day the Austin paper reported that Williamson County "was not going to be invited to participate" in the F&W plan.
