Mountain lion found in Poweshiek County by deer hunters

      According to the Department of Natural Resources and a Facebook post, deer hunters tracking a wounded deer early last week west of Brooklyn stumbled upon a mountain lion. It was found with a snare around its neck.
    The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said the nearly 120-pound mountain lion cat was found Tuesday, Dec. 7 in Poweshiek County by a group of hunters.
     The hunters reported the find to the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office and the DNR. It was not known where the original trap was located or who set it.
     According to the DNR, mountain lions have no legal wildlife status in Iowa, meaning the hunters could have kept the carcass. Instead, they turned it over to DNR,  officials noted.
   “It is not required that (mountain) lions be reported to the Iowa DNR; however, we really appreciate it when they are,” department wildlife biologist Vince Evelsizer told the Des Moines Register. “It helps us all in monitoring their whereabouts and learning more about them.”
     The agency will conduct tests on the carcass to try to get more information on the mountain lion’s background, Evelsizer told the Register.