Can mountain lions make a comeback in the US north-east? One group hopes so

Reintroducing the apex predator would control deer populations, maintaining healthy ecosystems and bolstering biodiversity, rewilding group says

Last summer, a wildlife photographer saw, or believed he saw, a mountain lion in South Burlington, Vermont. While it's possible, it is also remarkable: the apex predator was rendered extinct in northern New England in 1881 and the nearest confirmed breeding population is in North Dakota, 2,000 miles (3,200km) away.

But there could be in years hence more definitive sightings if Mighty Earth, a US-headquartered rewilding organization, convinces state and local authorities, along with Vermonters in general, that returning the top-level predator - known in various regions as the cougar, puma, panther and, in the north-east, catamount - to the region.