KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffMountain lion caught in Reynolds County

Mountain lion caught in Reynolds County

The Missouri Department of Conservation released a male mountain lion back into the wild Thursday after it was caught by a Reynolds County man Wednesday.

Reynolds County Commissioner Wayne Henson called Conservation Agent Eric Long Thursday morning and reported catching the 122-pound mountain lion on Wednesday.

Henson said the big cat entered a large, cage-type live trap that he set on Mark Twain National Forest land to catch bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and other mammals.

Henson brought the mountain lion, still alive and in the cage trap, to Centerville Thursday morning where Conservation Agent Long and MDC Resource Scientist Jeff Beringer took it to Current River Conservation Area to examine it.

"What am I going to do with it, that's what was going through my head, how am I going to get this thing out of here, and I knew it was illegal to kill it, so I thought I'll just deliver it alive and let them handle it," said Henson.

Beringer weighed and measured the cat and collected DNA while he was sedated.  Then, he released it to the wild in keeping with MDC's established policy.

Beringer estimates the cat's age at 2 years. He said it was in excellent physical condition and showed no signs of having been held in captivity.

"I knew it would happen sooner or later because a lot of the hunters around here have game cameras and they've caught pictures of one on a game camera," said Reynolds County Sheriff Tom Volner.

The Wildlife Code of Missouri provides for the taking of wildlife during prescribed hunting and trapping seasons and under other circumstances, such as when mountain lions are attacking or killing livestock or domestic animals or threatening human safety.  According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the MDC has not stocked mountain lions in Missouri and has no plans to do so.

People in Reynolds county say they're worried about the safety of their cattle, house pets, and children with cats like this in the wild.

"Now I'm going to either have a pistol or a shotgun with me if I'm out in the woods because this is proof that it can be very scary if you're by yourself," said Reynolds County resident Bob Johnson.

"It was a beautiful cat and all of that stuff, but it's also a threat, this things a 135 pounds, a big old claws, hands six inches across, it's just too big to cope with people, if it got hungry, it could hurt somebody," said Henson.

Candice Davis with the Missouri Department of Conservation says the animals do travel through Missouri, but it's rare for someone to encounter one.

"Mountain lions do not want to be near us, just like we don't want to be near them," said Davis.

"It's one of those things that you don't get to see except once in a lifetime unless you go to the zoo," said Volner.

Missourians are asked to report sightings to the Mountain Lion Response Team at mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov

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