Mike Repp
Well-known member
This is about 140 mi. from where I hunt deer. It just got a little scarier to walk in the dark out to a tree stand! You Missouri boys be careful!
Trail cam nails Show Me cougar
A deer hunter's trail camera and a subsequent on-site search for tracks by wildlife authorities has confirmed the existence of a mountain lion near the north-central Missouri town of Chillicothe.
When Joe Neis checked his trail camera Saturday, he discovered that instead of taking a photo of a big whitetail buck the remote unit had captured the distinct image of an adult mountain lion two days earlier.
Neis contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation, which dispatched its Mountain Lion Response Team to the scene.
The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune reports today that Dave Hamilton, the state furbearer biologist who heads the special team, indicated a big, wild feline indeed paid a visit to the area.
The finding marks the ninth confirmed mountain lion in the Show Me State in the past 15 years.
The last confirmed cougar in the state was by way of a vehicle fatality in 2003. Another hunter's trail camera helped confirm an immature lion in 2001.
In a recent article about the Missouri Mountain Lion Response Team, Hamilton notes that since the special group was formed in 1996, it has received "hundreds and hundreds" of mountain lion sighting reports.
With only nine reports that can truly be proven during that period of time, a major part of Hamilton's job has been spent dispelling rumors that invariably get started at local coffee shops, sporting-goods stores and (naturally) the Internet.
"Hundreds of eyewitness accounts, second-hand testimony and other stories circulate in communities across Missouri, causing lots of discussion and concern," Hamilton writes.
"In the search for evidence, however, it is important to distinguish between a reported sighting and a 'confirmed' mountain lion report."
And the answer to one of his most commonly asked questions?
"Despite rumors, the Department has never stocked mountain lions and will not do so in the future," Hamilton said.
Trail cam nails Show Me cougar
A deer hunter's trail camera and a subsequent on-site search for tracks by wildlife authorities has confirmed the existence of a mountain lion near the north-central Missouri town of Chillicothe.
When Joe Neis checked his trail camera Saturday, he discovered that instead of taking a photo of a big whitetail buck the remote unit had captured the distinct image of an adult mountain lion two days earlier.
Neis contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation, which dispatched its Mountain Lion Response Team to the scene.
The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune reports today that Dave Hamilton, the state furbearer biologist who heads the special team, indicated a big, wild feline indeed paid a visit to the area.
The finding marks the ninth confirmed mountain lion in the Show Me State in the past 15 years.
The last confirmed cougar in the state was by way of a vehicle fatality in 2003. Another hunter's trail camera helped confirm an immature lion in 2001.
In a recent article about the Missouri Mountain Lion Response Team, Hamilton notes that since the special group was formed in 1996, it has received "hundreds and hundreds" of mountain lion sighting reports.
With only nine reports that can truly be proven during that period of time, a major part of Hamilton's job has been spent dispelling rumors that invariably get started at local coffee shops, sporting-goods stores and (naturally) the Internet.
"Hundreds of eyewitness accounts, second-hand testimony and other stories circulate in communities across Missouri, causing lots of discussion and concern," Hamilton writes.
"In the search for evidence, however, it is important to distinguish between a reported sighting and a 'confirmed' mountain lion report."
And the answer to one of his most commonly asked questions?
"Despite rumors, the Department has never stocked mountain lions and will not do so in the future," Hamilton said.