N
Nicahawk
Guest
This happened about 20 miles from my place.
Fish and game keep trying to cover up the fact that they ARE here!
News Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wild or captive? A mountain lion shot in Barber County may be the first documented wild cougar in Kansas in a century
By Gale Rose, reporter@pratttribune.com
Published: Monday, March 31, 2008 12:09 PM CDT
E-mail this story | Print this page
A Crime Scene Investigation technique of using DNA samples could help determine if a mountain lion killed in Barber County was wild or had been a captive animal at some time.
For now the evidence points to a wild animal.
"We don't have any reason to doubt it was wild. There is no evidence it was ever in captivity," said Matt Peek, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks furbearer biologist.
Samples of the animal's DNA are being compared with known populations. Some captive mountain lions have South American ancestry. If the DNA matches South American samples, it could have been a captive animal at one time. If the sample matches North American it is probably wild, Peek said.
It will be a couple of weeks before the last of the tests is complete.
The DNA samples are from the pelt of a mountain lion that was shot in November 2007 on a farm in Barber County but KDWP didn't find out about the kill until early March. Currently, KDWP law enforcement has the pelt and is trying to get skull.
The pelt was from an adult animal perhaps two or three years old. It was wet and difficult to determine age and size from the pelt.
The mountain lion was shot west of Medicine Lodge in the red hills, said Bob Mathews, KDWP chief of information and education.
A farmer was cutting wood on his own land, saw the animal in some grass, got a gun and shot it. The farmer could face charges but nothing has been filed yet.
It is illegal to shoot a mountain lion just because it is present. If it is causing property damage or near buildings the law does allow for the animal to be shot, Mathews said.
This is an historic event in Kansas. The last proof of a mountain lion in Kansas was in Ellis County in 1904 and that was also a specimen that was shot and killed.
During the past 104 years there have been some fuzzy photos and numerous reported sightings from every county in Kansas but this is the first verifiable proof.
"This is the first one we've actually been able to document in over 100 years," Peek said.
Dozens of sightings are reported in Kansas every year with increased documented sightings in Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska as well, Mathews said.
If this animal is wild it was probably just passing through. Young males tend to wander far and wide for hundreds of miles and travel a long way from home.
"This is most likely just a lone individual," Mathews said. "It would not be a good thing for dozens to be roaming the state. We don't have the space for them."
White tailed deer are the main diet for mountain lion but they also eat raccoon, porcupine and sometimes livestock in the western states. That is the biggest concern for ranchers. They are not a great threat to people.
Mountain lions, cougars and pumas are all the same animal just different names. They average seven to eight feet in length with males weighing from 130 pounds to 160 pounds while the females range from 80 pounds to 110 pounds, Peek said.
The tail is 21 inches to 35 inches long and accounts for about half the body length. They are tan or fawn colored with a lighter underbelly. They are nocturnal, usually active from sunset to sunrise but can also be seen during the daytime, Peek said.
Many suspected tracks have been found in Kansas but these have proven to be dog tracks or inconclusive. A good-sized coonhound will leave a print the size of a mountain lion and if it's a big track it's probably a dog, Peek said.
Fish and game keep trying to cover up the fact that they ARE here!
News Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wild or captive? A mountain lion shot in Barber County may be the first documented wild cougar in Kansas in a century
By Gale Rose, reporter@pratttribune.com
Published: Monday, March 31, 2008 12:09 PM CDT
E-mail this story | Print this page
A Crime Scene Investigation technique of using DNA samples could help determine if a mountain lion killed in Barber County was wild or had been a captive animal at some time.
For now the evidence points to a wild animal.
"We don't have any reason to doubt it was wild. There is no evidence it was ever in captivity," said Matt Peek, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks furbearer biologist.
Samples of the animal's DNA are being compared with known populations. Some captive mountain lions have South American ancestry. If the DNA matches South American samples, it could have been a captive animal at one time. If the sample matches North American it is probably wild, Peek said.
It will be a couple of weeks before the last of the tests is complete.
The DNA samples are from the pelt of a mountain lion that was shot in November 2007 on a farm in Barber County but KDWP didn't find out about the kill until early March. Currently, KDWP law enforcement has the pelt and is trying to get skull.
The pelt was from an adult animal perhaps two or three years old. It was wet and difficult to determine age and size from the pelt.
The mountain lion was shot west of Medicine Lodge in the red hills, said Bob Mathews, KDWP chief of information and education.
A farmer was cutting wood on his own land, saw the animal in some grass, got a gun and shot it. The farmer could face charges but nothing has been filed yet.
It is illegal to shoot a mountain lion just because it is present. If it is causing property damage or near buildings the law does allow for the animal to be shot, Mathews said.
This is an historic event in Kansas. The last proof of a mountain lion in Kansas was in Ellis County in 1904 and that was also a specimen that was shot and killed.
During the past 104 years there have been some fuzzy photos and numerous reported sightings from every county in Kansas but this is the first verifiable proof.
"This is the first one we've actually been able to document in over 100 years," Peek said.
Dozens of sightings are reported in Kansas every year with increased documented sightings in Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska as well, Mathews said.
If this animal is wild it was probably just passing through. Young males tend to wander far and wide for hundreds of miles and travel a long way from home.
"This is most likely just a lone individual," Mathews said. "It would not be a good thing for dozens to be roaming the state. We don't have the space for them."
White tailed deer are the main diet for mountain lion but they also eat raccoon, porcupine and sometimes livestock in the western states. That is the biggest concern for ranchers. They are not a great threat to people.
Mountain lions, cougars and pumas are all the same animal just different names. They average seven to eight feet in length with males weighing from 130 pounds to 160 pounds while the females range from 80 pounds to 110 pounds, Peek said.
The tail is 21 inches to 35 inches long and accounts for about half the body length. They are tan or fawn colored with a lighter underbelly. They are nocturnal, usually active from sunset to sunrise but can also be seen during the daytime, Peek said.
Many suspected tracks have been found in Kansas but these have proven to be dog tracks or inconclusive. A good-sized coonhound will leave a print the size of a mountain lion and if it's a big track it's probably a dog, Peek said.