Most of the effort to lobby states to accept that there are mountain lions within their boundaries is to allow hunting them with dogs. It is an old story really, especially when there are livestock in the area.

And it is also one of those "shadow on the cave wall" phenomena. We are astonished or amused when people in other countries develop myths like chupacabras and vampires in order to attach a physical source to their fears and anxieties, but it happens all the time in the United States. Remember the giant bird or pterodactyl in the midwest 10 or so years ago that people swore could carry off children and livestock? Mountain lions plug in snugly with this impulse. They are stealthy, quiet, shy and extremely powerful. If you are feeling powerless and exposed to the unfairness of life, a mountain lion makes a good self-protective mythology.

Bobcats aren't scary. They really don't like people, and all their pray species are pretty small. If you have guinea hens or chickens in your yard, they'll clean you out pretty quickly (though weasels and raccoons do that more often than bobcats.) Mountain lions are deer eaters, so people aren't too different. You do have to pay attention in the wilderness areas where they are commonly found. In the Chiricahua Mountains in Southeast Arizona, mountain lions have been known to follow people, though I don't know of any attacks. A friend who worked at one of the ranches in that area was hiking in fresh snow one winter, and when she turned around to return to the trailhead, she came to a section where a mountain lion's footprints where mixed in with her footprints. Looked like the cat had been following her. I think that would freak anyone out.

Bald eagles are opportunistic scavengers. Catching fish in the water with your talons is hard to do and a lot of work with a relatively small percentage chance of success. So a dead deer is like going to the grocery store. Although there are often crowds, it is a heck of a lot easier.