Are there mountain lions in Arkansas?
Depends who you ask. I know many who’ve seen em firsthand, but many say the Game & Fish Commission “denies their existence” in the Natural State.
So, we asked Spencer Daniels, large carnivore program coordinator at AGFC, to set the record straight.
In today’s newsletter:
Wildfire risks this fall, dove season, and harvest festivals.
Does AGFC actually deny mountain lions in Arkansas?
Playing mythbusters with mountain lion lore
Let’s get to it.
HITHER & YONDER
Historic Cane Hill
A few stories and upcoming events worth knowin’ about from around the region:
Cane Hill Harvest Fest. Mark September 19 on the calendar. The Cane Hill Harvest Festival returns to Historic Cane Hill in northwest Arkansas, and this year's tied to the nation's 250th with a look at the area's Revolutionary War veterans and a Cherokee syllabary printing demonstration.
Wildfires in the Ozarks. Rural firefighters across the region are preparing for increased chance of wildfire this fall after the drought we’ve seen this summer.
The Butterfly Kings. Monarch migration through the Ozarks usually peaks right around now, mid-to-late September, as they pass through on their way to Mexico. Planting milkweed is a good way to attract this pollinator to your food plots.
Heard a good story we ought to share next week? Hit "reply" and send it our way!
WHO’S LYIN’ ABOUT THE LIONS?
Arkansas Game & Fish
According to Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, there is no mountain lion population in the state.
But if you ask my grandpa, he’ll tell you he’s seen them with his own eyes.
So who’s telling the lie?
As long as I can remember, older folks have said some version of this narrative:
“Game and Fish knows they're out there but they won't say so.”
Some have even gone as far as saying that AGFC released a ton of them in the state but still denies it.
If that’s true, what are they hiding?
We sat down with Spencer Daniels, AGFC's large carnivore program coordinator, and asked him directly.
Here’s what we learned.
Science Speak For Us Common Folk
Turns out a big reason for the miscommunication is that biologists speak a different language than most of us lay folk.
When biologists talk in terms of populations, "no population" is a technical term meaning no confirmed breeding, no females or cubs ever documented.
That’s not a full out denial that lions pass through.
AGFC has publicly confirmed 58 individual sightings since 2010, but all of them were male.
Males arre highly transient, sometimes traversing several states in their lifetime. Females are much less transient, sticking to one territory.
So AGFC doesn’t deny that lions have been seen in Arkansas. They just haven’t been able to confirm a breeding population… yet.
Genetics they’ve pulled from many of those confirmed sightings all trace back to South Dakota's Black Hills and Nebraska's western population, meaning the range is creeping south. In fact, Oklahoma just confirmed its first two breeding pairs (with cubs), one only 100 miles from the Arkansas border, so…
Arkansas might see an established population in years to come.
Other Mountain Lion Myths
While we were at it, we got Spencer on the record debunking other myths about mountain lions that are common around the Ozarks, including:
Myth: They're actually everywhere, but they’re too smart to get caught on trail cameras.
Status = Busted: Trail cameras are how almost every one of those 58 sightings got confirmed in the first place. Jump to that section here.
Myth: If one's hunting you, it'll dig a hole and scream into it so it sounds farther away.
Status = Unlikely. An ambush predator has no reason to announce itself in any way. Probably a story invented to keep kids from wandering off at night. Jump to that part of the convo here.
Myth: There are black panthers in Arkansas.
Status = Not Convinced. Spencer gave his scientific reasoning for a “no”…. but I know what I seen… You’ll have to listen in for the full story on that one. Jump to that part of the conversation here.
What To Do If You See One
If you do see something that looks like a mountain lion, Spencer's ask is simple:
Call AGFC (833-356-0824) & get a photo if you can.
They'll do a site visit and walk you through it, and he'd genuinely rather confirm a real one than have people keep it to themselves.
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Til then,
The Ozark Podcast