After years of denying that mountain lions exist or migrate this far south or east, the Nebraska State Parks and Game service will have to eat a bit of crow. The radio is reporting that a mature mountain lion has been shot and injured in West Omaha by a police officer. There were many agencies involved in the chase, including a police helicopter. The lion was only injured and is at our zoo right now and the vets say they expect it to recover from the wound. That will make many farmers unhappy, I' m sure.

My wife swore she saw one last year around this time but there were no other reported sightings, so I didn' t think more of it. About every year, though, someone comes forth saying they saw one but no tracks or sign is ever found, according the the Game Commission and DNR officers. Now they not only have tracks, they have the track maker.

I' m actually somewhat excited to know that the big cats do make it down the Missouri River Valley every now and then and could make my woods a little more ' wild' . I would love to see one in the wild, although I would likely mess my drawers if I did.[:-]