Mountain lion killed in Johnson County
Hunter
02/04/23
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says a mountain lion that had been seen in Johnson County since last spring was killed last weekend.
In an email from the DNR, the adult female weighing 116 pounds was shot by two licensed hunters who were out at night calling for coyotes west of Swisher.
Trail camera photos submitted by residents and hunters in the area have been submitted to the DNR since the mountain lion was first spotted.
DNR furbearer and wetland biologist Vince Evelsizer said the animal was seldom if ever seen by humans and never caused any safety or livestock problems.
Mountain lions were generally considered extinct in Iowa in the 1860s, but the DNR started getting reports of sightings again in the mid-1900s. According to their Clear Lake office, they’re now getting an average of two to four reports of mountain lion sightings per week. There have been no documented mountain lion attacks on humans in the state.