Free: Contests & Raffles.
I would guess a mother and kittens. Unshootable by law, right? Cougars are normally a "pack" type critter unless a couple of siblings goes out away from mom together.
They lose their spots usually at about 4 - 6 months. They're mottled 'til 9 or so (debatable). They're killing deer by then. They're not aggressive typically, but young and dumb, and defensive Mamma... you never know. I'd have followed, just to try to catch up and observe. If I caught them and they were grown cubs, I'd have picked off one of them and left Mamma. (Orphaned sub adults can be really bad news, especially if you're near livestock or neighborhoods.)