Mountain lion shot and killed in Johnson County

A mountain lion was killed in Johnson County last weekend, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The animal — an adult female weighing 116 pounds — was shot by two licensed hunters who were out at night calling for coyotes west of Swisher.

The Iowa DNR had been aware of the mountain lion’s whereabouts since last spring, thanks to trail camera photos submitted by residents and hunters in the area.

“During that time, she was seldom, if ever, seen by humans and didn't ever cause safety or livestock problems,” said department furbearer and wetland biologist Vince Evelsizer in an email.

Mountain lions are the largest wildcats historically documented in Iowa and likely used to have a statewide range. They were considered locally extinct in 1867. The Iowa DNR started receiving reports of probable mountain lion sightings again in the mid-1900s.

The department’s Clear Lake office now receives an average of two to four reports of mountain lion sightings a week. Statewide, more than 2,000 sightings have been reported since 2010. Johnson County had a confirmed sighting in April 2022 and a highly probable sighting in Oct. 2011. There have been no sightings in Linn County.

There is no documentation of any self-sustaining breeding populations of mountain lions in the state.

There have been no documented mountain lion attacks on humans in Iowa. There has only been one confirmed case of livestock damage from the animals, along with unconfirmed reports of deer kills by mountain lions.

At least six other mountain lions have been shot in Iowa since 1995. The cats are not protected by Iowa law.

Brittney J. Miller is the Energy & Environment Reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.

Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com