Officer kills mountain lion not spotted in Kentucky since before Civil War
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A Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife officer reportedly shot and killed a mountain lion on a Bourbon County farm this week, marking the first confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in the state since before the Civil War.
Mark Marraccini, a spokesman for the agency, said a farmer discovered the animal in a tree Monday and alerted the department, The Courier-Journal reported.
When the officer responded, he found the giant cat trapped in another tree by a barking dog and decided to "dispatch it," according to the newspaper.
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Marraccini told the newspaper it was nearing dark when the mountain lion was found and that the officer was concerned it might escape into the night and harm people in a nearby city.
Mountain lions were once native to Kentucky but were killed off about 150 years ago.