Arkansas – The initial image of the mountain lion, which was spotted in Arkansas, was taken by a game camera in Clark County.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) stated there’s a chance you could see the big cat this weekend as the modern firearms deer season opens this Saturday.
According to the AGFC, the mountain lion hails from South Dakota or Wyoming. In the past ten to fifteen years, there have been roughly twenty confirmed sightings in Arkansas.
“We’ve had them here for a long, long time. They were pretty much hunted out early last century,” said Keith Stephens with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
The National Wildlife Federation lists mountain lions as a natural species of the Americas that is threatened.
According to the organization, there are still thousands of them in the wild, but habitat damage and poaching have led to a decline in their population.
“So, they range from hundreds of miles away and usually they are just passing through,” said Stephens.
The mountain lion population and its migration patterns are unknown to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, but they assume the animal is moving south to either Texas or Louisiana.
It was mentioned that big cats are generally timid and will turn away if they hear sounds when they are moving through an area.
Don’t panic, though, if you do happen to spot the animal.
Due to their cautious nature, mountain lions tend to avoid human contact. The AGFC advises backing away from the animal gradually rather than running away in order to escape.
Killing a mountain lion is prohibited unless it is done in self-defense.
You can email an image of the animal to AGFC if you happen to spot it.