It seems like we write about mountain lions a lot here.  Remember the Mountain Lion Who Broke Into a Home To See Taxidermy Animals?  Or the Woman Caught On Video Walking Down the Street With A Full-Grown Lion Throwing a Temper Tantrum?

Just some wacky stories, right?

Seems like mountain lions are becoming more and more prevalent in our area.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office (which is southwest of Des Moines) and Warren County Sheriff's Office (south of Des Moines) have been made aware of multiple confirmed sightings of a Mountain Lion or Mountain Lions in their area.

Just Last Week

Here's one they found around Morrison, Illinois.  In fact, the Whiteside County Sheriff’s office requested the Morrison school district to keep students inside one day last week out of an abundance of caution.

How common are Mountian Lions?

The Iowa DNR says "It is very likely that we have the occasional mountain lion wandering through or staying in our state for a period of time, however, we have not documented a self-sustaining breeding population of mountain lions in Iowa at this time."

"Mountain lions have been locally extinct in Illinois for 150 years. A young male mountain lion was killed in Whiteside County in 2019. It was tested to be from a line of South Dakota mountain lions" according to theflatbkny.com

What to do if you see one

  • Stay calm. Don't spaz out!  If you yell and scream and run it will eat you.
  • Do not approach a lion. What are you, nuts?  Get out of there...slowly!
  • Do not run from a lion. Running away will make it chase you.  Now you're prey.  Great job.
  • Do not crouch down or bend over. If you squat or bend over the wild cats will think you're food. Avoid becoming food.

Are Mountain Lions Dangerous?

The great news is..."In the past 110 years 65 - 75 people have been attacked by mountain lions/cougars, resulting in 63 injuries, 20 of which were fatal, and none have occurred in Iowa."

-IowaDNR.com

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