Hunters shoot mountain lion near Macon

Hunters say animal posed threat. Fourth recent confirmed report brings total to 14 in Missouri since 1994.

KIRKSVILLE Mo – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has confirmed that a group of hunters killed a young male mountain lion west of La Plata, Mo., on Saturday, Jan. 22. According to conservation agents investigating the incident, the group was hunting coyotes on a landowner’s farm when several came within 20 yards of the big cat. None of the hunters had dogs. Members of the group immediately contacted conservation agents to report the incident.

At this time, no charges have been filed since it appears that the cougar presented enough danger to the hunters to warrant the shooting.

Mountain lions are protected under the Wildlife Code of Missouri. The Code does allow the killing of any mountain lion attacking or killing livestock or domestic animals, or threatening human safety. The incident must be reported to the MDC immediately and the intact carcass, including the pelt, must be surrendered to the MDC within 24 hours. 

The animal weighed 128 pounds. Members of the MDC Mountain Lion Response Team will examine the animal to gather additional information, including DNA, to help determine where the big cat came from.

This is the second young male mountain lion killed in Missouri this month and the fourth confirmed report of a mountain lion in Missouri since November.

“These four reports bring our total number of confirmed reports over the past 16 years to just 14,” said Rex Martensen of MDC’s Mountain Lion Response Team.

Martensen added that, like in this situation, it appears that mountain lions seen in Missouri are young males roaming from other states in search of territory.

“Young male mountain lions go in search of new territories at about 18 months of age and during this time of year,” he explained. “To date, we have no evidence to suggest that a breeding population of mountain lions exists in Missouri.”

He added that mountain lions are nocturnal, secretive and generally avoid contact with humans.

Mountain lions (Puma concolor), also called cougars, panthers and pumas, were present in Missouri before pioneer settlement. The last documented Missouri mountain lion was killed in the Bootheel in 1927. The closest populations of mountain lions to Missouri are in South Dakota and a small population in northwest Nebraska.

Martensen added that MDC has never stocked or released mountain lions in Missouri and has no plans to do so. 

To report a sighting, physical evidence or other mountain-lion incident, contact a local MDC office or conservation agent, or email the Mountain Lion Response Team at mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov.

For more information on mountain lions in Missouri, visitwww.MissouriConservation.org and search “mountain lion.”

Hunter admits shooting mountain lion in Ray County

Conservation officials say no charges will be filed.

RICHMOND, Mo.–A Ray County man has admitted that he, not a cattleman, shot a mountain lion on Jan. 2. Conservation officials say the admission brings their investigation to a close, and there will be no charges, because the shooter feared for his life.

James “Jimmy” McElwee, 29, of Camden, admitted he shot the 115-pound mountain lion while hunting raccoons in rural Ray County. His confession followed the admission by Bob Littleton, 60, of Richmond, that his initial claim of shooting the mountain lion was false.

“Mr. Littleton only said he shot the mountain lion to protect Mr. McElwee,” said Larry Yamnitz, Protection Division chief with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). “Based on the outcome of our agent’s investigation, no charges will be filed in this case.”

According to Yamnitz, McElwee admitted to the shooting, saying he feared for his life.

“He followed his dogs up a draw and shined a light up into a tree and saw eyes that were too far apart for a raccoon,” said Yamnitz. “When he realized it was a mountain lion, he was afraid to run, thinking it might attack him.”

After killing the cat, McElwee and his hunting partner and father-in-law, Larry Danner, 52, of Richmond, contacted Littleton, who took responsibility for shooting the mountain lion.

Yamnitz said everyone would have been better off if all parties involved had told the truth from the beginning.

“The true circumstances of the incident were more clearly within the provisions of the Wildlife Code than the story they made up,” said Yamnitz. “Based on the evidence and statements by all the parties involved, you can make the case of self-defense. There will be no charges.”

The Ray County mountain lion showed no signs of having been held in captivity and was in good health. MDC is conducting DNA tests to learn more about its origins and determine if it is the same animal photographed by a landowner in southern Platte County Nov. 26

The mountain lion (Puma concolor) is a protected species under the Wildlife Code. The Code allows the killing of any mountain lion attacking or killing livestock or domestic animals, or threatening human safety. Anyone who kills a mountain lion is required by law to report the incident to the MDC immediately. The intact carcass, including the pelt, must be surrendered to MDC within 24 hours. 

To report a sighting, physical evidence or other incident, contact a local MDC office or conservation agent, or email MDC’s Mountain Lion Response Team at mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov.

For more information on mountain lions in Missouri, visitwww.MissouriConservation.org and search “mountain lion.”

Ray County cattleman kills mountain lion

The 115-pound cat was a young male, which is consistent with

the theory that Missouri mountain lions come from other states.

COLUMBIA–Conservation officials say a mountain lion killed by a cattleman in Ray County was a young male that showed no sign of having been held in captivity.

Conservation Agent Tammy Pierson said Bob Littleton went to one of his pastures Sunday night after coon hounds treed a mountain lion where his cattle were grazing. He killed the mountain lion with a shot to the head from a .22-cal. rifle.

Littleton reported the incident as required by law. Pierson collected the mountain lion this morning and sent it to the Missouri Department of Conservation Resource Science Center in Columbia, where resource scientists examined it this afternoon.

Conservation Department furbearer biologist Jeff Beringer said the mountain lion weighed 115.2 pounds and measured a little over 6.5 feet from nose to tip of tail.  The sharp edges of the cat’s teeth and faint barring on the insides of its legs indicate it was a young male, probably three years or younger. Beringer said laboratory tests will provide more detailed information about the cat’s age and genetic makeup.

“We removed a small premolar tooth that will be sectioned so we can count the annual growth rings,” said Beringer. “That will tell us exactly how old it was. DNA testing will tell us whether it was related to native mountain lions in states to the west of Missouri, or if it is more closely related to mountain lions from somewhere else – possibly captive animals.”

Northwest Nebraska is the area nearest Missouri with an established mountain lion population.

Genetic testing also will determine whether the mountain lion killed in Ray County is the same one photographed by a landowner in Platte County in November.

Beringer said nothing in his examination of the Ray County mountain lion led him to believe it had been held in captivity. It had no tattoos or electronic identification tags – customary ways of marking captive cats. Its skin and paws showed no sign of having lived in a concrete-floored enclosure, and it still had its dewclaws, which often are surgically removed in captive animals to prevent injury.

The Ray County cat is Missouri’s 12^th confirmed mountain lion sighting since 1994. Most of the mountain lions whose bodies have been recovered have been young males. Young males are the most mobile mountain lions, because they typically leave their birth areas to establish territories not already occupied by adult males. This is consistent with biologists’ theory that the cats are coming into Missouri from other states. Beringer said there is no evidence of reproduction for mountain lions in Missouri to date. This indicates that Missouri does not have  a self-sustaining mountain lion population.

Because of evidence that Missouri no longer had an established population of mountain lions (Felis concolor), the Missouri Conservation Commission reclassified the species from “endangered” to “extirpated” in 2006. This means the species no longer exists as a self-sustaining population.

Also in 2006, the Conservation Commission adopted a policy that re-establishment of a sustainable mountain lion population in Missouri is not desirable, due to the potential for conflict with human activities.

Missouri’s Wildlife Code does protect mountain lions, but the Wildlife Code also allows the killing of any mountain lion that attacks or kills livestock or domestic animals or threatens human safety. People who kill mountain lions mustreport the incident to MDC immediately and turn over the intact carcass, including the pelt, within 24 hours.”

More information about reporting mountain lion sightings and how to deal with mountain lions is available at http://bit.ly/ciJDvb.

-Jim Low-

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