OMAHA — The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has determined that the animal spotted outside a Wahoo home last week was consistent with being a house cat and not a mountain lion.
Homeowner Jody Hunke disagrees. A former farm girl who has owned cats, including a large Maine Coon, she still thinks it was too big to be an indoor or feral feline.
“That would have made that Maine Coon look like a little stuffed animal,†she said. “That thing was big. A house cat is not big.â€
Sam Wilson, furbearer-carnivore program manager, said that as a scientific agency, Game and Parks requires verifiable evidence to confirm cougar presence.â ​
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He said they often do that by reviewing evidence provided, such as videos, images, scat and hair.
They look for details typical of a mountain lion such as the black tip at the end of the tail; that the tail is long and J-shaped so it doesn’t drag on the ground; tan body coloration; black spots on the back of the ears; and a few other details relating to head-to-body ratio.
"Then we are also looking to see if the size of the animal is consistent with a mountain lion. If we can’t immediately rule out a mountain lion based on obvious features, we often conduct an on-site investigation to determine that the location/background/date/size are accurate," he said.
Sometimes, he said, investigators will look for evidence of a mountain lion's presence such as tracks or kill sites or use a trail camera to try to spot it.
Hunke said Game and Parks brought a full-sized cutout of a mountain lion to their home and took pictures to see how it compared to their video and pictures. It was larger than what the couple saw.
"If the size fits for a mountain lion and colorations, tail length/shape, and other evidence fits for a mountain lion, then it gets confirmed," Wilson said. "If it lacks details typically seen in mountain lions (or shows details not found in mountain lions) and the size does not fit for a mountain lion, then it does not get confirmed."
Hunke thinks the animal she and her husband spotted across the street from their home was a younger mountain lion that was not fully grown.
Game and Parks encourages people to report possible sightings of mountain lions. They can call the nearest Game and Parks office, which can be found at . People can learn more about mountain lions in Nebraska at .