Cedar Rapids Weather
Wild Mountain Lion Killed in Iowa CountyBy Mark Geary, Reporter
IOWA COUNTY – Iowa DNR officials are investigating how the wild animal ended up in the Hawkeye state. A hunter killed the lion just outside of Marengo Monday evening.
The agency says it often hears lots of rumors and reports of mountain lions, but most get proven false. Anyone who ever questioned Dean Kinzenbaw's tales of mountain lions prowling around his backyard must eat crow. "They got teeth that are just ferocious. Their eyes look like wolf's eyes or a werewolf's eyes. They've got the killer instinct,” Kinzenbaw said. Locals suspected there was a mountain lion in the area for years, but never had any real proof except for a few unexplained deer carcasses in the woods." "You tell someone you saw one running across the road or around the pond or chasing a deer, but most people wouldn't believe you,” Kinzenbaw said. No one doubts Dean anymore. Ray Goebel shot the four-foot long, 125 pound lion while he was hunting deer on Dean's farm with a group of friends. "It was just sitting up there in a branch content. There were shots going off all around it. Other people were hunting around it and it never even flinched,” Goebel said. He's hunted off and on for years, but still considers himself a beginner. "I've missed a few bucks,” he said. The beast sports a thirty-inch tail, razor sharp claws and paws bigger that a can of pop. DNR officials say only three other mountain lions have been shot and killed in Iowa since the agency started keeping statistics decades ago. "It's very rare to have one. We have debunked a lot of the sightings,” Iowa DNR official Joe Wilkinson said. Goebel plans to stuff the big cat and put him on display. That way, he'll always have proof if anyone ever has any doubts. "It's once in a lifetime, by accident. Dumb luck," he said. The DNR will analyze the stomach contents, tissue and blood of the animal for research purposes. Although mountain lions are rare in Iowa, it is legal to hunt them in this state.
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