200 Pound Mountain Lion Killed in Texas

Officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department will be studying a mountain lion (cougar) road killed by a high school student north of Mineral Wells.

According to a story at KHOU.Com  a Graford High School student was driving home from basketball practice when he hit the giant cat while it was crossing the road.

After the accident, Palo Pinto County Game Warden Matt Waggoner was called to the scene to collect the animal.

Some might think seeing a mountain lion is a common occurrence in Texas, but it’s not. Confirmed sightings are usually in far West Texas and in southwestern parts of the state near the Mexican border.

“I’ve seen a lot of country that no one has ever seen, but I’ve never seen a mountain lion,” Waggoner said. “He was a mature male, and I’d estimate he was about 200 lbs. just massive.”

Two-hundred pounds is absolutely massive for a cougar and a cat this size killed in Texas shatters the myth that Texas cougars are all much smaller than their northern counterparts. While the largest cougars are typically found in the Pacific Northwest, there have been reports of huge ones in Texas. This recent incident gives credence to those sightings.

A few years back we ran a story showing a very large cougar standing over a javelina it killed on reader Ron Wehmeyer’s ranch in the Trans Pecos. You can see in that photo below this particular cat has not missed too many meals.  The cougar’s Latin name is Puma concolor which helps scientists navigate the many regional names for the animal. They are called catamount in parts of Canada, cougar in much of America, mountain lion out West, panther in Florida and puma in much of South America. If you have any photos or videos of cougars in Texas email them to cmoore@fishgame.com.

Chester Moore, Jr.