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BLENCOE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have shot and killed a mountain lion in western Iowa.
The police chief in Blencoe and a Monona County Sheriff's deputy found the adult male mountain lion in a tree in the northwestern corner of town early Friday. Blencoe is located 60 miles north of Omaha.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources spokesman Dale Garner says the officers shot the animal because they deemed it to be a threat to the public.
Officials believe the mountain lion likely came from a state west of Iowa.
Department of Natural Resources biologists believe most of the lions seen in Iowa are pushed out of their native areas by older, dominant males.
The animal will be analyzed to determine its age, feeding habits and place of origin. It will eventually be mounted and displayed in Monona County.
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