State wildlife officials are investigating a southern Indiana family's report that a mountain lion killed their pet cat.
Nashville resident James Halcomb says he encountered the animal on his property and says its features were definitely those of a mountain lion.
“Very thick, very broad. Big head, long teeth, long tail, very thick tail,” he says.
Halcomb filed a report on March 11 with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and DNR staffers collected the pet's carcass for examination. The agency says a search of the reported attack site found no tracks associated with a mountain lion.
Halcomb says he’s shared the incident with friends and family and believes area residents should be vigilant in case of future mountain lion sightings.
“I am a little nervous about my kids getting on the bus before daylight, for the safety of our pets, neighbors pets and stuff out. But hopefully it was just passing through," he says.
The DNR says mountain lions vanished in Indiana by the late 1800s, but there have been confirmed sightings in 2009 in Clay County and 2010 in Greene County.
