Mountain lion spotted in southwest Sioux Falls
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The City of Sioux Falls says a mountain lion was spotted in the city.
The city says a mountain lion was captured on a home surveillance system camera on July 23, on the southwest side of the city.
In a release sent Monday afternoon, the city says there is no threat to the public currently and that mountain lions have passed through this area before.
The Miner County Sheriff’s Office sent a warning on July 24 after a mountain lion was reported in Howard.
Sioux Falls Animal Control Officer Patty Beckman said a South Dakota Game Fish and Parks biologist used the camera images to confirm the animal was a mountain lion. The surveillance camera captured the back of the cat, the front and a side view as the cat walked, Beckman said.
“As of right now, this is the first confirmed one to come through,” Beckman said. The department has heard of other reports of mountain lions this year but there hasn’t been proof, she said.
Beckman said this mountain lion may likely be a young male pushed out of the pride. Most times, a cat will follow the river in this area, she said.
Cats will often travel through a city at night. It’s likely this cat has already moved on from Sioux Falls, she said.
The 2019-2029 Mountain Lion Management Plan by the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks said “With increasing human populations and encroachment of residential areas into mountain lion
habitat within the Black Hills, the probability of humans encountering a mountain lion in an
urban setting has increased.”
The GFP has been tracking observed mountain lion reports since 1995-1996. The reports peaked in 2004-2005 at about 406 total.
A South Dakota GFP report on mountain lion observations in the state from 1995 through 2021.
Overall, verified reports trended downward since 2008-2009, but reports increased since 2016-2017.
The mountain lion population has been sustainable enough to allow for a hunting season each year since 2005. The harvest season can end if 60 mountain lions are taken or when 40 female mountain lions are taken.
In 2023, 28 female mountain lions and 16 males were taken in the Black Hills area. Forty-two were taken in 2022.
If you spot a mountain lion, you’re asked to call authorities.
Source: KELOLAND.com
