Mountain lion spotted near Harrisburg

A mountain lion in a tree near Harrisburg Sunday (Copyrighted photo used with permission from Richard Teller.)

Banner County resident Larry Hopkins made friends with a mountain lion Sunday that stayed on his property for much of the day. Hopkins, who lives 6 miles northwest of Harrisburg, says his dog alerted him something was wrong outside around 9:30 a.m. and when he responded, he heard a growl and saw the mountain lion about ten feet away on a branch in a tree near his home.

Hopkins says the mountain lion jumped down and ran away, but he spotted him again later on the northwest corner of his property in another tree about 100 yards from the house. Hopkins called Game Warden Scott Brandt to the house, and the two of them watched the animal, which Hopkins says was never aggressive.

Hopkins says the mountain lion, estimated by Brandt to be about 75 pounds, stayed in the tree for five or six hours before leaving around 6 p.m.

© 2013 Rural Radio Network. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information