Mountain lion caught on video about 100 miles from Mississippi state line as cats continue to migrate toward Mississippi
According to WSMV.com in Nashville, a video of a mountain lion was recorded Nov. 24 in Humphreys County, Tennessee, which is about 100 miles from the Mississippi line. The video was taken by a game camera that appeared to have been placed near a scrape made by a white-tailed deer.
"It's
one of the best videos I've ever seen as far as a trail camera goes,"
Doug Markham of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency told WSMV.
WSMV
also reported that sightings of mountain lions have been confirmed in
Tennessee in Carroll and Obion counties. Carroll County is roughly 80
miles from the Mississippi line.
With those
confirmations, Tennessee joins two bordering states where big cats have
returned. Both Louisiana and Arkansas have had multiple confirmed
sightings in recent years.
According
to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida
panther, which is largely confined to southern Florida, once roamed
throughout the Southeast, including Mississippi. Now their cousins are
moving in from the West, where they are commonly referred to as mountain
lions. And, given the distance they have migrated eastward, they could
already be in Mississippi.
"I can't say there's not one,
two or three roaming around the state," said Richard Rummel, the Exotic
Species Program director for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
Fisheries and Parks. "They'll probably show up here as they expand
eastward.
"We've definitely got the food for them."
On the other hand, Rummel said, there is nothing that says mountain lions are here, but he hopes cameras change that.
Mountain
lions prey on a variety of animals, and among them is the white-tailed
deer. Given that predators and their prey generally inhabit the same
areas, that would put mountain lions in the same areas as deer. In
Mississippi, where there are deer, there are often trail cameras.
"There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of trail cameras in the woods," Rummel said.
In
the event someone thinks they have found a mountain lion paw print,
Rummel suggests taking a photograph of it with a common object such as a
pocket knife or money next to it for size reference. Also, notify
MDWFP at (601) 432-2400 if a mountain lion is spotted, sign of one found
or video captured.
To see the full report from WSMV.com and video of the Humphreys County mountain lion, click here.
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