Mountain lion sighting in Rossville confirmed
ROSSVILLE — It was an early-morning sight that made a Rossville woman think her early-morning walk had gone far enough.
The woman called Rossville police Friday morning to report encountering what she thought was a lion while walking at 5:45 a.m. in the vicinity of St. Stanislaus Church in the 700 block of S. Main Street.
"At first she thought it was a deer," said Rossville Police Chief Jason Connell. "But then it moved away from her, stopped, laid down and its long tail nearly hit it in the face. That's the kind of tail a mountain lion has. "She stopped, stared at it and decided it was time to head in the other direction."
Turns out the woman, who asked not to be identified, wasn't mistaken about what she saw illuminated by the lights of the nearby church. A ranger from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism later that morning found paw prints in a populated area on the south edge of Rossville."He was 85 percent sure they were made by a mountain lion," Connell said.
It was the second big cat report Connell had received in recent weeks. A farmer in western Shawnee County had made the same claim earlier, he said.
The ranger told Connell mountain lions have been known to roam in Kansas, but generally they stay within about a 500-mile radius of their traditional Rocky Mountains home.
The woman called Rossville police Friday morning to report encountering what she thought was a lion while walking at 5:45 a.m. in the vicinity of St. Stanislaus Church in the 700 block of S. Main Street.
"At first she thought it was a deer," said Rossville Police Chief Jason Connell. "But then it moved away from her, stopped, laid down and its long tail nearly hit it in the face. That's the kind of tail a mountain lion has. "She stopped, stared at it and decided it was time to head in the other direction."
Turns out the woman, who asked not to be identified, wasn't mistaken about what she saw illuminated by the lights of the nearby church. A ranger from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism later that morning found paw prints in a populated area on the south edge of Rossville."He was 85 percent sure they were made by a mountain lion," Connell said.
It was the second big cat report Connell had received in recent weeks. A farmer in western Shawnee County had made the same claim earlier, he said.
The ranger told Connell mountain lions have been known to roam in Kansas, but generally they stay within about a 500-mile radius of their traditional Rocky Mountains home.
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