Tracking mountain lions in Missouri

By MIKE ROUX

Photo by JUSTIN GAILEY

This story begins a few years back in southeastern Missouri. My very best friends, Roger and Jeannie Lewis, bought a couple hundred acres in Iron County to be their “getaway” spot for themselves and their family for hunting and fellowship.

Their oldest son, Steven, was put in charge of several things at the farm, including placing a few trail cameras out and tracking their pictures. They have since collected an amazing number of wildlife pics. One of the cameras sends him video clips. I will come back to one of those videos shortly.

A few months ago, Roger read an article in Missouri Conservationist magazine about Missouri mountain lion sightings and how to report them. Rog made the contact and subsequently sent in the mountain lion trail camera video that Steve had collected.

Some time passed before Roger was contacted by the Missouri Department of Conservation about his big cat video. Arrangements were made for a visit to verify and confirm the sighting and the video. A side note is that Steve also captured video of a large black bear on the same camera at the same location.

Scott McWilliams, a Wildlife Damage Biologist with the MDC, arrived at the Lewis farm to investigate. Recently I was honored to meet with Mr. McWilliams to learn more about what he does and exactly what he did on the Lewis property.

He said mountain lion sighting confirmations and black bears were his primary focus. He was accompanied by Justin Gailey. Their method for verifying mountain lion sightings is to go to the EXACT spot of the photo or video and recreate the scene.

How They Do It

To do this, McWilliams uses a full-size mountain lion silhouette. He looks at the photo and, using the surrounding trees, rocks and plants, places the cut-out in the precise spot where the cat was standing in the picture. This way they can accurately estimate the size of the cat. While with McWilliams, I was able to gain a lot of knowledge about mountain lions in Missouri. Record-keeping began in 1994. Since then, hundreds of mountain lion sightings have been reported statewide. However only 115 of these sightings have been confirmed by the Department of Conservation.

McWilliams told me that young male lions are the most common. These cats can travel thousands of miles as they search to establish their home range. He told me there is little doubt that the same cat could be seen in a dozen different counties.

So one of my main purposes in sharing this mountain lion information is that you can be aware that these animals are out there. I also want you to know the official methods in which you can report a sighting. You can obviously call your local Missouri Department of Conservation agent or contact the Department of

Conservation at mountain. lion@mdc.mo.gov

Interviews with Roger Lewis and Scott McWilliams, along with the mountain lion and black bear videos from the Lewis farm, can be seen with a subscription to MID-MO REAPERS on YouTube. For more information and outdoor content, like and follow Mike Roux Outdoor ENTERPRISES on Facebook.

Minnesota, Wisconsin battle sturgeon poaching

Shovelnose sturgeon in many ways pale in comparison to lake sturgeon. They weigh less and aren’t nearly as long. They live much shorter lives, and they’re not as popular a target for anglers.

Nevertheless, shovelnose sturgeon are a native fish known for their flesh and roe, an important part of the ecosystem, and they are protected with conservative harvest limits to ensure their populations remain stable.

Minnesota conservation officers and conservation wardens with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources had this in mind in the spring of 2019, when they received a tip and began looking into the potential illegal take of shovelnose sturgeon in Pool 9 of the Mississippi River.

Over the course of the next two years, officers conducted an investigation that included hundreds of hours of surveillance and documentation of a number of violations.

As part of the investigation, officers discovered many fish with their abdomens cut open. Eggs had been collected from the females; the carcasses of females and males alike were tossed back into the river.

Guilty Pleas

Ultimately, six people were charged by the Houston Coun- ty Attorney’s Office with 57 violations. All pleaded guilty last year to the charges, with the final case being resolved late last fall.

Three of the individuals pled guilty to gross misdemeanors for taking gross overlimits and lost their hunting and fishing privileges for 10 years. Two of the individuals also were charged and found guilty in Wisconsin of improperly transporting game from another state; those cases were resolved this spring.

“This case is a great example of teamwork across states, agencies and the county prosecutor’s office, and sends a clear message that wildlife crimes will not be tolerated,” said Tyler Ramaker, the Minnesota DNR’s lead investigator on the case.

Said Brad Parsons, DNR fisheries section manager:

“We put regulations in place in order to protect fish populations and ensure their sustainability into the future. Situations like this, especially when they involve slow-growing species like shovelnose sturgeon that may spawn just three or four times in their lifetime, really do have the potential to affect everyone’s ability to use and enjoy our natural resources.”