Recently, a mountain lion was sighted in a wooded area of Kansas. More importantly, it was photographed, and those photos have been authenticated. We can now say that there are mountain lions in Kansas for the first time since 1909.

The Wichita Eagle's report is very interesting, and it tells us a lot about bigfoot sightings. Like bigfoot, there are a number of sightings each year. Also like bigfoot, most of the pictures taken are blurry and inconclusive. So, given that sightings of a real animal bear so much in common with bigfoot sightings, does this lend credence to the theory that there are hairy hominids wandering the Pacific Northwest?

Well, yes, but that's only because many hunters eschew shaving rituals during deer camp. There may be similarities between the two cases at first glance, in reality there are very few. Consider the facts:

• Mountain lions were known to exist in Kansas as late as 1909

• Mountain lions are known to exist in neighboring state, Colorado

• In states where a population is established, they are seen fairly frequently

• All the sightings are fairly consistent (they describe the same thing)

• Mountain lions are sometimes hit by cars

• Cats are excellent at hiding

None of these things are true of any hominids we're familiar with. If bigfoot is real, I'm sure it will eventually be described by science. But given how little wilderness there is left, and what we know of hominid species, it seems exceedlingly unlikely that they exist. All that's really needed is one specimen, dead or alive. The excuses given for us not finding these have included the suggestion that bigfoot is an alien visitor from another planet, though those folks may simply have watched too much Six Million Dollar Man.