If you live out in the Midwest, mountain lions aren’t much of a concern (duh, there isn’t any mountains).
Even out west, seeing one in the wild isn’t all that common of an occurrence, as they generally manage to keep themselves pretty hidden from plain sight. Like many nocturnal creatures, you’re most likely to see one around dawn or dusk with the naked eye, however, if you do see one, it probably saw you first.
Occasionally some are spotted in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Missouri, and more frequently in Nebraska and the Dakotas… states that border places where larger populations live.
However, for the few that do exist in the Midwest, this isn’t necessarily how you come across one of these vicious creatures.
The Madison County Sheriff’s office out of Madison County, Iowa, shared this wild video of a mountain lion wandering right underneath a hunter sitting in a tree stand, trying his damndest to not draw any attention to himself.
Although difficult to see at first and figure out what it is, it eventually leaps out directly under the stand for a perfect view.
You can see the mountain lion looking around and checking its surrounding, seeing if there’s any predators or prey nearby, and it sits still almost as if it hears something.
Although mountain lion sightings are rare in the Midwest, the Madison County Sheriff’s office wrote that there’s been an abnormal amount of mountain lion sightings in the area, and the neighboring Warren County has had the same issue.
The office said:
“We do not believe there is any danger to the public as these sightings have been in remote areas not regularly traveled by the public.”
According to The Kansas City Star, Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources stated the last historical record of a mountain lion sighting in the state was 1867, which shows just how rare this sighting is.
They note that mountain lions were regularly shot and killed when Iowa was first settled, stating:
“The pioneers did not see their presence of any value to their own way of life, so basically persecution by humans brought their demise.”
They believe that the recent mountain lion sightings have come from the creatures making their way over from Wyoming, where they are more common.
And they don’t believe that mountain lions will ever be common in Iowa:
“It is doubtful that the mountain lion will ever have much presence in Iowa. There is some question about whether Iowa (is actually) good mountain lion habitat.
The tolerance or intolerance of humans will dictate whether they will ever be able to get a foothold in the state.”
