Mountain lion spotted; police launch search

Thursday, April 15, 2004 | 10:39 a.m.

The sightings of a mountain lion by four residents in the area of the Las Vegas Beltway and Summerlin Parkway have prompted Metro Police and state game wardens to go on the prowl looking for it.

But if the wild feline is there, authorities have seen no signs of it.

"We have not found tracks, and the residents we have interviewed have not had any pets eaten or otherwise disappear from the area," Geoff Schneider, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said today.

"We believe it is out there, but it just has not displayed any signs that it is there."

The sightings in the area, which encroaches on the lions' habitat, have caused at least one area school, Staton Elementary, to send letters of warning of a potential mountain lion in the area to parents.

Metro has searched the area by helicopter, while game wardens have gone door to door and scoured the area.

Schneider said it is rare for a mountain lion to come into areas populated by humans because "they are leery of humans and do not want to deal with us."

"However, we are pushing our way to them. We keep building farther and farther up the mountains, where we are seeing not only mountain lions, but also gray foxes, kit foxes, coyotes and bobcats."

Schneider said the animal that has been seen probably is an 18-month-old lion -- the age at which mothers kick their young out of their territory to prepare for a new litter of kittens.

"They have to find a new home, especially the males that have to look for territory," he said. "They can be drawn down (from the mountain) because of a lack of food or drought."

If spotted by wildlife authorities, the animal will be shot with a tranquilizer dart and -- if it is a healthy specimen -- will be relocated to the Spring Range, Schneider said. If the animal is unhealthy it will be euthanized, he said.