Cougars in Cape reported by some

A conservation agent says no reports of mountain lions in the area have been confirmed.

There's no doubt in Jeff Timmerman's mind that cougars do live in Southeast Missouri, at least around his home just outside the city limits of Cape Girardeau.

He's seen what he believes is a cougar or cougars several times since 1972, when he moved into his house on County Road 205, about an eighth of a mile outside Cape Girardeau.

Timmerman said he used to take walks in the field behind his house but stopped last year after several cougar-related incidents, including both he and neighbors seeing the big cats near his home.

There have also been instances of spooked deer that Timmerman attributes to cougars.

"There's definitely something up there," he said.

Timmerman is one of several Cape Girardeau County residents who said they've previously spotted cougars in this area following a recent report of a cougar in Advance, Mo.

Karen Freeman, who lives in a subdivision in Gordonville, also believes she has seen a cougar in the past year.

Freeman said last October, while walking her dog, she came across a large cat in her driveway. At first, she thought it was one of the Great Danes she raises.

"I was only about 30 feet away from it. I thought, 'It's too big to be a coyote and it's not a dog. Oh my God, you're a big cat,'" she said.

Later Freeman identified a cougar from a photograph as the type of cat she saw.

"I know that's what I saw. I haven't seen it since, but I'm very, very aware when I go outside now," Freeman said.

Gene Myers, a Cape Girardeau County agent for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said he has not seen confirmed evidence of cougars in his 28 years as an agent in Southeast Missouri.

"We do get occasional calls," Myers said. "I haven't been able to verify any as far as definite tracks, but that doesn't mean there could not be some present."

Myers said one obstacle the department of conservation faces is how long people wait to report a sighting.

"If it's something fresh, we try to go out and verify tracks," he said. "Sometimes we get calls that go back weeks, months or years."

Cougar sightings have increased in recent years in Missouri, though none have been confirmed in the southeastern part of the state. Out of thousands of reports in the state, seven have been verified. One of the most recent was a cougar hit and killed by a car north of Kansas City.

Myers advised people who believe they've seen a cougar to report it immediately rather than waiting.

"Anyone who calls who has a legitimate sighting concern, that's something we want to address as best we can," he said.

Timmerman said he did contact the conservation department after his initial sighting, but his report was not confirmed.

"They told me to take a radio with me to make noise on my walks. Three weeks later, my neighbor saw a cougar in my back yard, but I didn't call back," Timmerman said. "I don't know how seriously they take these reports."

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128