March 3, 2014
OTTUMWA — When you think about the wildlife in Iowa, generally the first animals that come to mind are deer, turkeys, rabbits, raccoons, pheasants and eagles.
One animal that most don’t think of is mountain lions, and although the sightings of these big cats have been very few and far between in Iowa, it could be time to start recognizing that they are making their presence known in the state.
According to a report created by Vince Evelsizer, a furbearer biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, from 1995 to 2013 there were 13 confirmed sightings of mountain lions and five cases of confirmed tracks found in Iowa. But the Iowa DNR had hundreds if not thousands of other reports of sightings that were not confirmed.
In order for a sighting of a mountain lion to be confirmed by the Iowa DNR, there has to be credible evidence. There has to be a picture or video of the animal or its tracks, animal droppings or some sort of DNA evidence available for the Iowa DNR to label a sighting as confirmed.
Even though the number of confirmed sightings of mountain lions is low, the fact that there have been big cats confirmed in Iowa recently raises concern with a lot of people, according to Evelsizer.
“[Mountain lions] are typically secretive and keep to themselves, but the thought of them scares people,” he said.
Now that there have been confirmed sightings of mountain lions in Iowa, are they going to be popping up more around the state?
According to Evelsizer, the presence of the big cats in Iowa really depends on what is happening in states to the west. He said that the harvest season in western states effects how much they disperse into Iowa, so really the number of mountain lions in Iowa can fluctuate, and only time will tell if they come east with more regularity.
The last confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in Iowa was in Sioux County in December 2013. State Conservation Officer John Sells and a local hunter shot and killed an adult male cat that appeared to be hunting close to a rural home.
Evelsizer said that since the mountain lion was killed by Sells, there have been no confirmed sightings in the state, but that does not mean they aren’t here. “There can be one at any time, but to my knowledge there isn’t a confirmed cat in our state right now,” he said.
Even if there isn’t a mountain lion in Iowa right now, though, there could be in the future, so people in the state might need to start thinking of ways to coexist with them. Right now the big cats do not have a legal status in the state, and Evelsizer said there was recently legislation introduced at the state level that would ensure their protection, but the bill was killed almost immediately.
Evelsizer said that ultimately it will be up to the people living in Iowa to decide what to do with mountain lions. “The decision on if they should be protected is up to the people,” he said. “It needs to be the people of Iowa that decides if they want these animals protected or not.”
The low number of sightings of mountain lions in Iowa suggests that citizens should not be too worried about the big cats showing up in backyards, but a sighting is entirely possible. Anyone who thinks they may have seen a mountain lion or have found tracks should contact the Iowa DNR immediately.
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