EARLY MORNING, BEFORE the sun even hinted at dawn, I walked the dog along our suburban sidewalk, with numerous streetlights illuminating our way. I spotted movement ahead — a sizable four-legged form padding silently away, a long tail draped in a graceful curve nearly touching the ground. That’s all I saw but I didn’t need more — a mountain lion! We stopped; the critter continued away; we backed up slowly and headed straight home. Walk is over! The mountain lion goes by many names: cougar, puma, panther, catamount, to name a few. By far the largest wild cat in the ...