Biologists have proof that a mountain lion’s been roaming southern Iowa. Someone who spotted the big cat eating a deer called friends, and it didn’t take them long to track the cougar down, near Confidence, a town off the west end of Lake Rathbun. The friends came with coon hounds and tell DNR wildlife biologist Todd Gosselink they chased it for about three quarters of a mile before the cat was treed and shot. The mountain lion proved to be about fix and-a-half feet long and somewhere between 80 and 100 pounds, a young male probably almost two years old. The agency hopes to run DNA tests, saying there have been other reports and it’s not a surprise to find a mountain lion in these parts. Biologist Ron Andrews says it’s not illegal to shoot a mountain lion…but it’s not necessary either.
