MOUNTAIN LION CONFIRMED IN LABETTE COUNTY
Oct. 23, 2014
Mountain lion photographed on trail cam in southeast Kansas
PRATT – A deer hunter from Labette County got a surprise recently when he checked his trail camera he had set up for deer. He found a single image of a mountain lion walking away, down the trail, the characteristic long tail prominently displayed. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) staff visited the site last week and verified the photo’s authenticity. This is the tenth mountain lion verified by KDWPT since 2007, but the first in almost two years.
The first confirmed mountain lion in 2007 was killed by an individual in Barber County. Since then, most of the sightings have been confirmed with photographs taken by remote, motion-triggered cameras commonly used by deer hunters to keep track of deer movement near their stands.
In each instance, KDWPT staff traveled to the sites where photos were taken to validate the photographs. Staff investigates sightings whenever evidence, such as tracks, a cached kill or a photograph exists. Biologists assume most sightings are of transient young males, coming from established populations in nearby states.
“It’s not uncommon for young males to travel great distances looking for home ranges,” said Matt Peek, KDWPT furbearer biologist. “So far, these animals appear to be passing through, rather than staying and establishing home ranges in Kansas.”
We reported the sighting, but officials on the base looked at us like we were reporting an encounter with aliens or bigfoot. Based on that reaction, we did not bother contacting KDWPT.
There have been a couple of cat sightings on my lease just south of Tulsa. Rancher has directed us to shoot them on sight. He's had a couple of calves killed by cats in the past. The kills were not coyote or dogs. They were cached and there were cat tracks all around. But, that was about 4 yrs. ago. No sightings or signs of them since.
Richard, surely you aren't insinuating people with Missouri or Oklahoma deer licenses have ventured into Kansas, when our gun season is not open, and shot deer? :-)
In 30-plus years, I never had anybody with Wildlife and Parks say we did not have mountain lions. They said we had no proof, which we didn't until 2007.
Silly people, dealing in hard facts and not rumors.
Repeatedly I interviewed lion biologists in Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota about proof of mountain lions. They always said, "When you get mountain lions, you'll know."
Even before trail cams they said lions would be showing up in coyote snares and traps, as roadkills or a nuisance predators around sheep and goats.
They are not much for carrion and in SC Kansas it would be a challenge to jump out of a hedge tree and take deer. They are going to resort to calves, sheep, etc and you would sure hear of that in the coffee shop if it occurred! As reported, probably a lost male on a mission through the state and not setting up residence. 95% of sightings are a good imagination that makes people listen!
Amazing, we have two different houndsmen in Kansas, who run their dogs on bobcats in KS and lions in the mountains, chased mountain lion leads in Kansas for close to 20 years.
They went to a lot of reports, but nobody ever showed them so much as a track.
Kansas as been ranked as some of the poorest mountain lion habitat in the nation by The Cougar Network.
And John, I kinda disagree. People saw more mountain lions when they were "hey did you hear what Ol" Smitty saw?" legends.
Game wardens that have moved from Kansas to the Rocky Mountains got a lot more lion reports in Kansas, than up in the mountains where there are healthy populations.
RUN, KYLE, RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Writer...that is exactly what I said "...the more people that believe they exist the more sightings we will have"
No doubt in my mind that there are a few in the state as several have been killed in the last ten years, but you would think the people that that spend the most time in the woods would be the ones that would see them, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
BTW, they are not considered a game animal here & it is legal to kill them here.
Everyone here claims there is a large resident population of cats in this area, yet none of them are hunters or outdoorsman of any kind. It's always "So and so saw a mountain lion down by the creek, or cross the road" but I'm out there year round and see nothing, not even sign. I've seen a few tracks when I lived in AZ, so I do know what they look like.
I actually believe KDWPT when they say the cats that have been confirmed in the state are probably transient young males looking for a new home range.
The one killed by the train had a SD collar on it.
Not a tracking chip, a big collar. :-)
