Mountain Lion Spotted West of Sheridan

A mountain lion was spotted in a silage pit owned by Eldon Hart west of Sheridan. It was spotted by Bo DeMott of Sheridan last week. Mountain lions are rare in Missouri, but they can range for hundreds of miles in search of mates and prey. There have been six mountain lion sightings throughout the state of Missouri posted on the Missouri Department of Conservation website. Two were in Shannon County, two in Grundy County, and two in Reynolds County. One was caught by a landowner in a large, cage-type game trap. There have been 32 confirmed reports of mountain lion sightings since 1994. There were 14 confirmed sightings in 2011. DNA testing tied two cougars to the Black Hills area of South Dakota; others were traced to Montana and Colorado.