County residents report lion sightings
Staff reporter
Similar to UFO sightings, people are reluctant to "go on record" about sightings of big cats like mountain lions and cougars.
However recent sightings by rural Marion County residents have started a new buzz around town about the elusive felines.
At 8 a.m. Aug. 11, 16-year-old Jake Bredemeier and his mother, Pam were sitting in the family's living room of their rural home south of Marion, when they saw a large animal running across a field.
"The animal stopped and looked around," Jake Bredemeier said. And that's when the two could tell that it wasn't a dog or a coyote.
"It was probably 200 yards away from the house," he said. "I think it saw us because it jumped back in the weeds from time to time."
Bredemeier got his rifle with a telescope and watched the large animal as it appeared to scope out its next meal — a chicken coop 150-200 yards away.
"It was definitely larger than a bobcat or any dog I've ever seen," the teen said.
More investigation indicated there were sets of tracks or paw prints in soft dirt. On Sunday, there appeared to be a new set of tracks at a different location on the Bredemeier property.
A plaster cast was made of the paw prints.
"When I was looking at the prints, I noticed my foot print didn't go in as deep as this paw print," Bredemeier said. He added that he thought the wild animal could have weighed 160 pounds, an easy 20 pounds more than the teen.
An avid hunter, Bredemeier said he never thought too much about encountering wild animals like a cougar while on his own deer expeditions.
"It sure had made me think about it," he said.
And then there's the flip side.
The Jerry Olsen family of rural Marion near Aulne, have had 20 baby pigs dragged away from pens and presumed killed by a wild animal.
"We thought for sure it was a mountain lion," Joyce Olsen said, "but we now have evidence that indicates it was a coyote."
Olsen was surprised a coyote could be so aggressive.
"This past spring, coyotes have become more aggressive," said Jessica Lauren, DVM, of Marion.
She said she hasn't heard of any livestock being injured by wild animals other than reports of coyotes.
Since the incidents, the Olsens have erected additional fencing and installed another yard light to deter predators.
A large cat roaming Marion County is very real to Margo Yates, a neighbor to the east of the Bredemeiers. She said it was normal to see large paw prints in her garden. She also admits to seeing a large animal near her rural home.
When asking the general public, many have a big cat story.
Jean Stuchlik, circulation manager of The Marion County Record and a rural Lost Springs resident, said she and husband Alex saw one on their property 10 years ago.
Peabody Gazette-Bulletin news editor Susan Marshall of Peabody said she saw a smaller version of a mountain lion two or three years ago on Nighthawk Road.
It was the middle of the day and she was traveling to Marion when she saw a small animal cross the road.
"I knew it wasn't a cat but it moved like a feline," she said. "I also knew it wasn't a bobcat because it had a curled tail."
Marshall believes it was a young mountain lion.
This reporter also had an encounter of the furry kind 12 years ago.
My daughter and I were on U.S.-77 on a Sunday morning returning from Florence to Marion. There was a long line of vehicles, with us following a small pickup. An animal darted across the highway, running in front of my vehicle, and sauntered through the ditch and over a fence. It was a large, tan animal that moved like a wild cat. A long, curled tail was a dead giveaway that it was not a coyote or dog.
The line of cars slowed down and appeared to do what we did — watch the creature disappear into a field.
Talk at the coffee shop produced some willing to talk but most not.
Bob Ehrlich of rural Marion, said it had been nearly 10 years since he's seen one. Larry "Farmer" Olsen of rural Marion also said it had been 10 years since a sighting. Olsen said he saw a large mountain lion while farming near Marion Reservoir.
Expert talks
Marvin Peterson, resource officer of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, said in the 23 years he has been with the department, he has never encountered a mountain lion or has seen documentation of any in Marion County.
"People have called me to come check tracks," Peterson said.
The state of Kansas has not had a confirmed case since 1904.
"A road kill would be a good indicator," Peterson said, but other evidence such as photographs, clear tracks, and DNA samplings from animal waste could be used to confirm they really do exist.
Peterson does try to keep an open mind.
"It's not entirely impossible that someone has seen one that may have been somebody's pet," he said.
Caged cougars or mountain lions are no longer allowed in Marion County but that doesn't mean someone might have let one lose and now it roams the countryside.
"It will be just a matter of time before one is documented," he said.
Peterson recalled an instance when a timber wolf was killed.
"I know that one was someone's pet that was released," he said.
Rumors of wildlife and parks planting micro chips in the animals and releasing them into the wild also are unfounded. Peterson said he's heard similar rumors but said none of them are accurate.
Upon examination of the plaster cast paw print provided by the Bredemeiers, Peterson determined the print was inconclusive but stated it probably was a canine.
"If a track has a nail print, it's a canine because when cats run, their nails retract," said the wildlife expert.
It is unlawful to hunt and kill a mountain lion but Peterson said landowners have the right to defend their property and protect themselves from the predator.
If anyone has seen suspicious animal tracks, etc., on their property, they can contact Peterson at (620) 924-5747.
About the beast
So what characteristics do these large felines have that make them so difficult yet so unique to identify?
To begin with, mountain lions, cougars, catamounts, or pumas are all the same species. They are the largest wild cats in North America.
They are solitary animals and avoid contact with people. They primarily prey on deer but do eat porcupines, raccoons, birds, small mammals, foxes, mice, and grass.
A single, male lion may require up to 175 square miles of territory for its home range. They prefer wild areas frequented by deer. One lion can consume about one deer per week. A lion will cover the remains of its prey and return to the kill to feed until the meat becomes rancid. If a person finds a lion kill, don't stay in the area because the animal may still be nearby. An adult lion can weigh up to 200 pounds.
Young mountain lions have spots and a ringed tail, and are sometimes mistaken for bobcats. A litter of one to six young are born between late winter and mid — summer. The cubs stay with their mother for one or two years.
Lion tracks show four toes on the front claws and four toes on the hind foot. The retractable claws do not show in prints and look more like a domestic cat paw print than a wild animal.
They are good climbers and can leap more than 20 feet up into a tree from a standstill. They can jump to the ground from as high as 60 feet.
A single male may travel 25 miles a night when hunting. Lions may be active by day in areas far away from humans. They are most active at dawn and dusk — the times when deer are feeding.
Confirmed sightings have been made in the past few years in Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Missouri.
