The cat which a Brown County family reported to local authorities as a possible mountain lion in March is officially not a mountain lion, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Statement from the DNR today:
“The Indiana DNR received a report on March 11 of a domestic cat in Brown County that had been killed by another animal, possibly a mountain lion. DNR staff collected the domestic cat’s carcass at the site and searched the surrounding area for tracks or other signs of a mountain lion, but no additional evidence of a mountain lion was found, although there were clear tracks of other wildlife typical to the area, such as deer.
“Examination of the domestic cat carcass revealed bite measurements that could be consistent with either bobcat or small mountain lion, so were inconclusive on their own. Saliva deposited at bite wound on the cat’s carcass was collected with swabs and sent off for DNA analysis. When compared to reference samples of mountain lion and bobcat, no swabs detected mountain lion DNA, and eight of ten swabs detected bobcat DNA. The combination of genetics and the bite measurements leads us to conclude that a bobcat, not a mountain lion, killed this outdoor domestic cat.
“Bobcat attacks on pets are uncommon, but the DNR recommends keeping dogs leashed and cats indoors as this can reduce negative interactions with all wildlife.
“Bobcats are frequently misidentified as mountain lions. More information on identifying these species can be found at wildlife.IN.gov/8113.htm.”
ORIGINAL STORY HERE: http://www.bcdemocrat.com/2019/03/13/man-reports-seeing-possible-mountain-lion-dnr-cant-confirm/
