In Ohio, there are Bobcat, Mountain Lion, and Leopards.
Transient males wandering from the western U.S. and escaped pets are the two sources of real cougars in Ohio.There isn't enough habitat for an ongoing population in Ohio.Some people swear they do exist in Ohio.
I will disagree with him.Several of my neighbors have seen a mountain lion here in Aberdeen, Ohio.While fishing with his family, one of our neighbors saw two of them together.Many other people have seen wolves and bears.There's plenty of land, woods, and hiding places for these types of animals to start moving in if you live in this area.They are predatory.They like deer and will follow their favorite meal.The deer population is crazy here.
The umas were extirpated decades ago.Due to the secretive nature of these cats, one would not be surprised to see them in Ohio.It could be an escapee from a private owner.The animal that turned up in Connecticut a few years ago was from a population of pumas in South Dakota.It is unlikely that there is a breeding population in Ohio.