The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says it was a mountain lion that killed a deer in central Iowa’s Marshall County. The deer was found on private land about two miles northwest of Bangor by the landowner on Tuesday morning. Rick Trine, the wildlife management biologist for the area, says the marks on the deer and its condition are consistent with a cat kill.

The claw marks on the hind quarters and puncture wounds to the head and neck, plus the fact the 150-pound-plus deer was dragged 50-yards to some pine trees, indicate it was a mountain lion kill. The deer had only three legs, apparently due to an old injury that had healed, making it easy prey. It’s the first confirmed mountain lion in Iowa since October 2004.