Mountain Lion Spotted in Northern Missouri, 13th Cougar Verified in Past Year

The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed this week the presence of an adult mountain lion in Grundy County.

A trail camera captured an image (right) of the big cat on April 2 as it walked through a wooded area around 8:45 p.m. The cougar is the 29th verified sighting in Missouri since mountain lions were once again spotted in the Show-Me State in 1994. Thirteen of the animals have been verified in Missouri in just the past year.

Mountain lions were native to Missouri before being hunted out of the state in the 1920s. Biologists believe that the cats found in these parts recently are males dispersed from western states in search of a mate.

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