Why Have Mountain Lions Suddenly Vanished from Missouri?

As you might imagine, it's big news when there are mountain lion sightings in Missouri. But, it's also news when these big cats seemingly have completely disappeared from the state and that's exactly what's happened so far in 2024.

Over the past 20 years or so, the Missouri Department of Conservation has confirmed 120 mountain lion sightings in the state as their map reveals.

While the state officially says that mountain lions are not native to Missouri, they admit that it's not a completely uncommon occurrence to see one of these big predators traveling in the backcountry.

Here is what's strange. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, there have been no mountain lion sightings since February 13, 2024.

So you're telling me there have been ZERO mountain lions in Missouri for almost 7 months during their typically most active spring/summer months of the year? It wasn't that long ago when there were reports of a rise in mountain lion sightings in Missouri.

Suddenly, mountain lions are just avoiding Missouri altogether. It makes me wonder what's really going on. Are sightings of mountain lions in the state now not being reported or have these animals choosing other habitats due to weather changes? These are not rhetorical questions. I'd really like to know. I just find it hard to imagine that after years of at least a half dozen big cat sightings in Missouri, there suddenly aren't any. That doesn't make sense to me, but there are a lot of things in the world that don't add up to me, so perhaps the apparent disappearance of mountain lions in Missouri is just something else I'll have to add to that list.