Mountain Lion Sightings in Area Possible But Not Likely

Reports of mountain lion sightings on the north side of Grain Valley and reports of a dead mountain lion along I-70 created debate amongst neighbors on social media recently.

Grain Valley Police Chief James Beale reported receiving one call last week of a mountain lion sighting. Officer Iiams was dispatched to check out the situation and did not find any sign of a mountain lion.

Bill Graham with the Kansas City Regional Office of the Missouri Department of Conservation heard the rumor regarding a dead mountain lion along I-70 near Grain Valley and stated that an investigation of the corpse found it was a deer.

“We hear rumors of mountain lion sightings all the time, but it is very unusual that a mountain lion sighting is actually confirmed in this area,” Graham said.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, only 74 reports have been confirmed since 1994. The only confirmed sighting in the region occurred in November 2010, when a photo taken by a private landowner in Platte County showed a treed mountain lion. The Conservation Department’s Mountain Lion Response Team (MLRT) confirmed the sighting using photos and other signs.

Graham said that most mountain lion sightings are usually house cats who appear larger due to the distortion of distance, or bobcats who are not uncommon to the area.

Expert trackers look for the following to identify mountain lion tracks:

Three lobes at the bottom of the pad. Dogs and coyotes have one indent at the bottom of their pads.

Teardrop-shaped toes. Dogs’ and bobcats’ toes are shaped like an oval.

Between 3- and 3.5-inch-wide tracks. Bobcat tracks will be much smaller—less than 2 inches wide—which is smaller than the print of a 6-monthold mountain lion kitten.

No claw marks are usually visible, except in extremely rare occasions when mountain lions use them for extra traction or to build up speed.

Claw marks are usually visible in dog and coyote tracks. Dogs leave a blunt, flat claw mark. When present, a mountain lion's claw marks are slender and sharp.

The Conservation Department conducts field investigations only of those situations that involve human safety, or where there is substantial physical evidence—livestock damage or wildlife kill, scat or hair directly linked to a sighting, or confirmed tracks.

Tracks that are characteristic of a mountain lion should be photographed and then covered with a bucket.

Photos, plaster casts of tracks and other physical evidence such as hair or scat should be sent to the Conservation Department so that experts can examine them.

To contact the MLRT send an email to mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, only 74 reports have been confirmed since 1994. Photo credit: Missouri Department of Conservation