Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Update: mountain lion killed in Des Moines neighborhood
Radio Iowa ^ | 10.4.12 | Pat Curtis

Posted on 10/07/2012 7:22:10 AM PDT by Free Vulcan

Police shot and killed a mountain lion this morning in Des Moines.

Kevin Baskins, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says it’s extremely unusual for such an animal to end up in a residential neighborhood.

“Certainly, we see the occasional mountain lion wander through the state of Iowa, but to the best of our knowledge, we really have not seen one in urban setting like Des Moines,” Baskins said.

”The only explanation we can think of is that mountain lions will follow river corridors and the river is in fairly close proximity to where this cat got shot.”

The mountain lion was spotted by a man in the backyard of his home, located on Des Moines’ northeast side, at 9:30 a.m. Around two hours earlier, police had received reports of a mountain lion near an elementary school.

Baskins said officers had little choice but to shoot the animal, given it’s size and the fact that it was in a residential area near two schools. But, he notes mountain lions aren’t considered a great threat to humans.

“Mountain lions generally tend to avoid people as much as possible,” Baskins said. “In Iowa, we’ve yet to have a documented case of a mountain lion attack on a human.”

The young male cat shot in Des Moines measured six feet, three inches from nose to tail and weighed over 70 pounds. “A full grown male mountain lion can weigh 140 to 160 pounds, so this one may have had his full height, but probably still had some room to grow,” Baskins said.

Mountain lions are no stranger to rural areas of Iowa as they’re pushed out of the Black Hills or mountainous regions to the west. A mountain lion can move several hundred miles in just a few days.

The lion shot in Des Moines is now being examined by the DNR. “One of the things we look at when we get an animal like this is the stomach contents to see what kind of diet it had just prior to being killed,” Baskins said. “I know in the past, it’s been mostly rabbits, mice and squirrels.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; US: Iowa
KEYWORDS: cougar; midwest; predator; wildlife
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last
Have to realize that up to now, the Iowa DNR has said there are NO mountain lions in Iowa. Des Moines is near the center of the state. Guess that shoots that theory...

On a side note, word on the street down here is that the Missouri DNR have secretly and illegally released cougars in the NE part of the state, where they obviously migrated to ours. Have heard rumors of the same about wolves, but they have not turned up as of yet.

1 posted on 10/07/2012 7:22:22 AM PDT by Free Vulcan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

Too bad...if the headline writer had used “cougar” instead of “mountain lion”..you’d have 200 replies and 50 pics on this thread..


2 posted on 10/07/2012 7:26:22 AM PDT by ken5050 (Barack Obama: An empty suit sitting in an empty chair...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

The lion shot in Des Moines is now being examined by the DNR. “One of the things we look at when we get an animal like this is the stomach contents to see what kind of diet it had just prior to being killed,” Baskins said. “I know in the past, it’s been mostly rabbits, mice and squirrels.”

If it had been the lion that was visiting my ranch here in New Mexico a couple weeks ago they would have found some of my sheep in its belly.


3 posted on 10/07/2012 7:32:38 AM PDT by Carthego delenda est
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Slings and Arrows

Big Kitty ping!


4 posted on 10/07/2012 7:37:41 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic (Joe Biden is reported to be seeking asylum in a foreign country so he does not have to debate Ryan.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

Well good for them. They got to shoot something that day and it wasn’t a dog.


5 posted on 10/07/2012 7:37:58 AM PDT by Uncle Chip
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

Probably someones pet they raised from a cub that got loose


6 posted on 10/07/2012 7:38:22 AM PDT by TexasFreeper2009 (Obama lied .. the economy died.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan
"“One of the things we look at when we get an animal like this is the stomach contents to see what kind of diet it had just prior to being killed,”"


7 posted on 10/07/2012 7:42:22 AM PDT by Rebelbase (The most transparent administration ever is clear as mud.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan
Have to realize that up to now, the Iowa DNR has said there are NO mountain lions in Iowa.

The wildlife experts in Kansas and Missouri said the same thing for years including the escaped pet nonsense (the dog ate my homework). Finally, they had to admit that these critters are living among us, and they are reproducing. My neighbor lost two pigs a few years back to an adult and a cub judging from the size of the paw prints.

8 posted on 10/07/2012 7:49:33 AM PDT by centurion316
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

“What do you need those rifles for? The deer are all gone.”


9 posted on 10/07/2012 7:52:44 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan
Awe...poor kitty. Eight years ago a mountain lion was sitting in a tree in Palo Alto near a school waiting for lunch to come out of their classrooms. Animal Control killed him and the local liberals (ie, everybody in Palo Alto) got REALLY upset that the poor widdle kitty was killed.

Mountain lion shot and killed
Palo Alto visit fatal to cougar / Cop shoots cat near schools and residences Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Palo-Alto-visit-fatal-to-cougar-Cop-shoots-cat-2776914.php#ixzz28coyEDXe

10 posted on 10/07/2012 7:56:50 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan
“Police shot and killed a mountain lion this morning in Des Moines”

They probably mistook it for a dog.

11 posted on 10/07/2012 8:01:49 AM PDT by Tupelo (Republicans, ...Are any of them worthy of my vote?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

That is obviously not a mountain lion, that is a great plains lion


12 posted on 10/07/2012 8:03:38 AM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 ..... Present failure and impending death yield irrational action))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

Jobs must be getting scarce in the woods.


13 posted on 10/07/2012 8:05:37 AM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (To the left the truth looks like Right-Wing extremism.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan
The only explanation we can think of is that mountain lions will follow river corridors and the river is in fairly close proximity to where this cat got shot.”...

How about plenty of cats and dogs for easy pickings

14 posted on 10/07/2012 8:10:41 AM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

It was all for the children, you know.


15 posted on 10/07/2012 8:10:49 AM PDT by OldPossum
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

Basically, the DNR denies the existence of such predators because an admission of such would open a bureaucratic can of worms they’d rather not deal with.


16 posted on 10/07/2012 8:17:37 AM PDT by Freedom4US
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan
Actually, there have been sightings for about 10 years now, and one was killed by a car just north of Des Moines about 6-7 years ago.

There have been lots of reports about coyote invasions, and there was a moose seen in NE Iowa a few years ago. It's good that large wildlife is returning to Iowa. I'll only get nervous when there are reports of bears and wolves.

17 posted on 10/07/2012 8:30:43 AM PDT by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan

Why kill it????


18 posted on 10/07/2012 8:34:28 AM PDT by Doc Savage ("I've shot people I like a lot more,...for a lot less!" Raylan Givins)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ProtectOurFreedom

Sounds like something in Dallas a few years ago. A large gorilla at the zoo escaped its enclosure and ended up being shot and killed. The local animal worshippers held a candlelight vigil at City Hall in its memory.


19 posted on 10/07/2012 8:39:35 AM PDT by ken in texas (I was taught to respect my elders but it keeps getting harder to find any.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Free Vulcan
Kevin Baskins, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says it’s extremely unusual for such an animal to end up in a residential neighborhood. “Certainly, we see the occasional mountain lion wander through the state of Iowa, but to the best of our knowledge, we really have not seen one in urban setting like Des Moines,” Baskins said.

In 2006 the Sioux City Police shot a cougar that had denned up in a city park. The I-DNR was all agog, then, about how there were no restrictions on killing mountain lion in Iowa as the species was considered a non indigenous predator, at the same level as a coyote. Any caliber weapon, permission from the landowner to shoot on private property.

20 posted on 10/07/2012 8:47:23 AM PDT by woofer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson