Mountain lion captured on camera in Shannon County

A mountain lion was spotted by trail cameras in Southern Missouri last week after killing an elk in Shannon County.

It was the 117th confirmed mountain lion sighting in Missouri since 1994.

Missouri Department of Conservation received reports of a mountain lion Sept. 12, prompting members of the department’s large carnivore response team to respond to the area.

The agents set up trail cameras, and the mountain lion was observed returning to the carcass to feed, Maddie Est, an MDC media specialist, told the Southeast Missourian. Est said the elk carcass showed signs that it had been attacked by a mountain lion. She said it’s common for the cats to return to a carcass to feed later.

“Mountain lions are very nomadic in nature,” Est said. “What we see is that they come in from other states.” She said there appears to be no breeding population in Missouri.

“Mountain lions are natural predators to elk, and this scenario is nothing to be concerned about,” MDC furbearer biologist Nate Bowersock said in a news release. “Here in Missouri, we have an abundance of natural foods for mountain lions. While we do get questions regarding livestock, there has never been a confirmed instance of a mountain lion killing livestock in Missouri.”

Est said the mountain lions generally come from western and northwestern states. Mountain lions have been spotted as far east as Franklin County in Missouri. Mountain lions are also known as cougars, pumas and panthers. One was spotted in Butler County in 2021.

Anyone who spots a mountain lion on a game camera is encouraged to contact and share information to the MDC by emailing mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov.

The MDC reintroduced elk to Peck Ranch in Carter and Shannon counties in Southern Missouri in 2011. The elk mostly stay in the Peck Ranch area, Est said.