Kansas mountain lions are reported as frequently as most other mystery cats seen around the Midwest, of course. Most officials still say these are due to misidentifications.

Now there’s proof that one of those sightings was not of a mistaken house cat.

Last spring 2008, a

…Barber County man was chopping wood when he saw the animal in the grass. He retrieved a firearm from his truck and shot it.

KDWP obtained the pelt in March. Biologists collected muscle tissue samples and sent them to a federal research laboratory in Montana.

After several months of tests, researchers were able to determine the animal was not of the South American decent, from which most captive lines come.

While the test doesn’t prove the animal was wild, Peek said officials believe it probably was wild.

Click here for an interesting mountain lion graphic of the sightings plotted on a good map of the USA, broken down thusly:

Sightings

Class 1 confirmation
Live, captured animal
Body of a dead animal
Photograph or video
DNA evidence

Class 2 confirmation
Track sets, prey carcasses and
other physical evidence verified
by a qualified professional

Read more here.