When you think of Kansas, you probably don't think of mountains — or mountain lions.
But in recent years, the number of sightings of mountain lions in the state has skyrocketed. There have been 117 sightings since 2007, and 65 since 2023, said Jon Beckmann, a wildlife supervisor for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
As mountain lion populations continue to become reestablished in the Great Plains, increasing across the four states that border Kansas, it's likely that they will rise in this state as well, he said.
"For the most part at this point, our lions are just, we think, dispersed, coming through (Kansas) as they get reestablished in the Great Plains," Beckmann said. "We do not have evidence of a resident mountain lion at this point in the state's history, but we're getting closer and closer, most likely, to that occurring in the next couple of years in Kansas."
Beckmann said there's also no evidence that mountain lions are reproducing in the state.
But there are signs of them across Kansas.
"What we're really looking for when we come out and look to confirm a potential detection or sighting of a lion is really for tracks," Beckmann said. "Lions leave very distinct tracks."
Beckmann said the lobe of a mountain lion's paw is shaped a bit like a "W." And because mountain lions can retract their claws, their tracks usually don't have claw marks in the same way a coyote's would, he said.
Other signs that a mountain lion has passed through an area include scat and the leftovers of prey that the animal might have hunted, he said.
Anyone who spots a mountain lion should contact the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
