The lion will be analyzed to determine its age, what it has been feeding on as well as DNA tests to try and determine its place of origin. The lion will eventually be mounted and used as a display somewhere in Monona County.
Iowa law does not provide wildlife protection to mountain lions.
Mountain lion sightings have been documented periodically in Iowa and DNR biologists believe that most of the lions seen here are likely young males that have been pushed from their native areas by older, dominant males. The lion likely came from a state west of Iowa.
Generally a mountain lion will sense human presence before humans know they are in the area and the mountain lions will quickly vacate the area.
Sightings of a mountain lion can be reported to local law enforcement or to DNR conservation officers.
Peter, I am willing to bet that a mountain lion in a town or city, is reason enough to dispatch it. I have seen what they can do to livestock and humans in rural areas.
In such cases, it becomes a fact of kill or be killed. And I don’t fancy myself being mauled.
Arrogant humans. You encroach upon its natural habitat and give it no choice but to land upon human populated areas, and then you kill it.
Your correct Peter, animals should have more rights than humans. We have no right to exist!
His meds were probably tested on lab rats in a controlled environment. I bet they were allowed to live to a ripe old age in appreciation…
Geez Observer. I didn’t hear anything about that Mountain Lion attacking anyone. Last I heard it was hiding up in a tree. Then it was shot dead. Do you think you’re jumping to conclusions that the Mountain Lion automatically would have attacked humans?
Peter, you gonna stand under that tree and find out if it will attack you or not? You are daft.
peter is off the reservation again
No you’re right. Shoot and kill everything that comes your way. I’m swallowing my meds right now. Thank you very much sir for setting me straight.
My guess is the officer(s) took the actions they felt were needed to protect the public from any possible harm. You know as well as I do how some folks hate any type of authority figure, so no matter what the officers did or didn’t do, they would be considered wrong no matter what.
No, I don’t consider the officers wrong-no-matter-what. I consider them wrong because something out of the norm occurs ecologically, and they decide without consulting appropriate people that the animal has no inherent rights to exist…and they kill it…like brute force thugs. I think it’s actually quite interesting that a mountain lion made it to Iowa. I would charge those officers with animal abuse.
So anything out of the ordinary is apparently subject to being shot and killed. Not sure if I like that policy much. Can anyone prove that mountain lions weren’t at one time free-roaming naturally occurring specimens in Iowa? Kill kill Kill. Xenophobia at it’s worst.
I wish we held same animal control policy on illegal aliens.