By AP/KWMU
Springfield, MO – Reports of mountain lions are becoming more common in Missouri, especially the Ozarks area, as the animals return to an ancestral home.
Nobody is really sure how many wild mountain lions are in the state or how far they've spread. But a collision last month between a vehicle and one of the animals was proof that they are indeed around.
The latest reports of mountain lions in Missouri have come from north of the Missouri River at a time when reports of mountain lions are increasing in neighboring states.
States such as Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska have confirmed sightings of what is the biggest cat in North America, the first in those states since the late 1880s.
It's illegal to hunt a mountain lion in Missouri unless they are pursuing humans, livestock or domestic animals.