Mountain Lion Hit by Motorist

[boartuff]

Initial examination of road kill mountain lion indicates the animal was wild.

Cougar's physical condition and stomach contents support MDC belief that the cat was free-ranging.

JEFFERSON CITY --A necropsy of the mountain lion killed Monday night by a motorists in Callaway County indicates the animal migrated to Central Missouri from the west. That is the preliminary finding of a team of Missouri Department of Conservation wildlife biologists who examined the cat Wednesday.

"Our examination found nothing that indicates the mountain lion had been in captivity," said Conservation Department Wildlife Research Biologist Dave Hamilton. "It had no tags, tattoos or wear on its claws and pads that is typical of animals that have been kept in concrete-floored enclosures. Its stomach contained a single gray squirrel, which probably means it was feeding in the wild rather than being fed by humans."

Other findings of the necropsy are as follows:
* The animal likely was 1 1/2-to-2 years-old based on the presences of dark barring on the fur, which normally disappears by age 3.
* The overall health of the animal was good. Its death probably was instantaneous, as the impact with the automobile separated the cat's neck vertebrae and broke both its front legs.
* The pad of the cat's left forepaw was missing in addition to the missing toes from that paw. It is possible that the injury was sustained in a fight with a larger mountain lion or perhaps a bear several months ago, perhaps even a year ago.

Tissue samples taken from the mountain lion have been sent to a lab for DNA testing. Animal hairs contained in the cat's lower intestine also are being sent to a lab for identification. It will be several weeks to several months before the Conservation Department receives the lab results.

Hamilton said as mountain lion populations continue to grow in western states cougar sighting may increase in Missouri and other Midwestern states. He said young males often wander long distances in search of areas not already occupied by adult male lions.

Since 1994 eight instances of mountain lion have been confirmed by the Conservation Department Mountain Lion Response Team (MLRT). The MLRT investigates all credible reports of mountain lions sightings. To report a mountain lion sighting call the nearest conservation agent or Conservation Department office.

Missouri Dept. of Conservation

 

[spectr17]

Aug. 13, 2003

Road kill proves to be Callaway cougar

By COLIN E. SUCHLAND, The Fulton Sun

Brian Ham, an agent with the Missouri Department of Conservation, spreads the paw of a cougar killed late Monday night in Callaway County. (Colin E. Suchland photo)


Responding to the scene of a road kill late Monday, a highway patrolman was the first to discover what may be evidence of mountain lions' resurgence in Missouri - the carcass of an adult male cougar.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, an unknown female caller reported that she struck an animal - presuming it to be a dog - while westbound on Highway 54 about a mile south of Fulton. The accident occurred near the County Road 318 junction.

The Callaway County Sheriff's Department received the call at about 11:20 p.m. Monday, and it was relayed to a nearby trooper who discovered the fatally injured creature to be not canine, but feline. He transported the carcass in a body bag to the Callaway County Jail, where it later was claimed by local Conservation Agent Brian Ham.

"When I first heard about it, I thought somebody might have given (the cougar) a case of 'lead poisoning,'" but "I'd say he sustained a broken neck," Ham told The Fulton Sun at a Tuesday press conference in Jefferson City.

Though local residents have reported seeing cougars in the past, most incidents proved to be sightings of other animals. Dogs frequently are mistaken for mountain lions, as are the animals' tracks commonly confused. Ham last investigated an alleged cougar sighting in Callaway County this past winter.

The cougar's origins are unknown as of yet, but preliminary examinations revealed the cat to be about 105 pounds, 50 inches long with a tail of more than 30 inches, and about 32 inches tall at the shoulders. Officials estimate the feline's age at about 3 years. Although he appeared to be in good health, the cougar was missing all of his front left paw but one claw. MDC officials said this injury predates Monday's accident and had healed.

Further tests, including DNA sampling and a necropsy, are scheduled and may narrow speculation on the cougar's origin. Dave Hamilton, MDC resource scientist, said mountain lions in captivity typically are of South or Central American lineage, while free-roaming cougars in the U.S. are from a North American bloodline.

For decades, mountain lion sightings were scarce and unconfirmed, Hamilton said, but there have been eight documented and confirmed incidents involving cougars in Missouri since 1994. Most recently, another male mountain lion was killed by an auto in October 2002 a few miles from downtown Kansas City, Mo., along Interstate 35.

"It would be very easy for one to survive in the wild," Ham said, noting that Missouri's ample deer population would provide plenty of prey.

The Callaway County cougar had little plaque on his teeth, soft paw pads, sharp claws and did not bear calluses on his forearms - all indications that the cat had been roaming the wild and not caged. No tags, tattoos or other indications of captivity were found on the cat.

Hamilton said wild cougars tend to shy away from human contact, while those held captive are more likely to move near residences and towns. Still, there have been no confirmed cougar attacks on people, pets or livestock since frontier days.

"Certainly our level of concern is a bit higher with a captivity raised animal," Hamilton said.

The state has issued about 40 residents permits to keep mountain lions captive, though officials believe there is a small population illegally owned. Cougar populations in Western states are strong and competition for territory may be pushing some cougars to roam. Hamilton listed Colorado, South Dakota and Texas as the nearest states with significant populations.

"Right now, we don't believe we have a breeding population in Missouri," Hamilton said, though he did not discount that as a future possibility as more cats roam into the state. However, the researcher refuted long-standing speculations, saying the state is not importing mountain lions and is not encouraging their mating in Missouri.

The nearest breeding cougars are thought to be 500 miles away, but the felines are known to follow stream beds when on the move, and conceivably can travel hundreds of miles in a matter of months.