Mountain lion body examined

A Thursday necropsy of a mountain lion found dead in northern Stone County — only the second found dead in Arkansas in the last 10 years — ruled out a gunshot wound or automobile strike as causes of death, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission news release states.

Although the release does not specify a cause of death for the animal discovered in the Sylamore Wildlife Management Area by a U.S. Forest Service employee, the adult male cat was very thin, with an empty belly and teeth that were severely worn, broken or even missing.

It was about 85 inches long and weighed 118 pounds — 30 pounds less than the last mountain lion reported dead in the state, a male shot by a deer hunter in Bradley County in November 2014. That slain male was the first mountain lion reported killed in Arkansas since 1975, the release states.

State Wildlife Veterinarian Jenn Ballard in her necropsy saw no evidence of a bullet wound or injuries consistent with a vehicle striking the feline, the release states.

Samples taken from the animal will be studied for viruses and toxins and sent to Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia and the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at the University of California — Davis for further study.

Mountain lions, sometimes called pumas or cougars, lived across Arkansas until about 1920, the release states. DNA tests done on the big cat killed in 2014 determined it was likely the same one spotted in Marion County in September 2014 and had most likely come from the Black Hills breeding population in Wyoming and South Dakota.

Since 2010, there have been 23 confirmed sightings of the reclusive feline in Arkansas, the release states. The creatures tend to be shy and have learned to avoid and even fear humans. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission advises people with verifiable evidence of a mountain lion sighting in the state to contact them.