There be lions here

According to the Fulton Sun, a cougar was killed early this week:

Responding to the scene of a road kill late Monday, a highway patrolman was the first to discover what may be evidence of mountain lions' resurgence in Missouri - the carcass of an adult male cougar.  According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, an unknown female caller reported that she struck an animal - presuming it to be a dog - while westbound on Highway 54 about a mile south of Fulton. The accident occurred near the County Road 318 junction.

For decades, mountain lion sightings were scarce and unconfirmed, Hamilton said, but there have been eight documented and confirmed incidents involving cougars in Missouri since 1994. Most recently, another male mountain lion was killed by an auto in October 2002 a few miles from downtown Kansas City, Mo., along Interstate 35.

The nearest breeding cougars are thought to be 500 miles away, but the felines are known to follow stream beds when on the move, and conceivably can travel hundreds of miles in a matter of months.

The cougar that was killed was missing all of one front paw except a claw, which suggests it had a run in with a trap at some point.