By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

Wildlife officials have confirmed the sighting of a mountain lion in Trego County, only the second in Kansas in more than 100 years.

The sighting, brought to the attention of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, was made in early October by a deer hunter northwest of WaKeeney.

Although he wasn't identified, the hunter apparently saw the lion approaching his deer stand, grabbed a camera and took several pictures.

The lion materialized near a pile of corn the man was hunting over and approached within 10 feet of the hunter, according to a statement issued Monday evening by KDWP.

"They aren't real good pictures," said Mike Mitchener, wildlife section chief for KDWP.

But KDWP personnel were able to use the photos to confirm that it was a lion.

"They're good enough," Mitchener said of being able to confirm it was a lion in the photos.

The Trego County sighting would be the second since 1904, when the last lion was killed in Ellis County.

"I believe it was around Victoria," Mitchener said.

In November 2007, a young male mountain lion was shot and killed by a landowner in Barber County. That man eventually was charged with shooting the lion and keeping its pelt.

Because there's no open hunting season for mountain lions in Kansas, it's illegal to kill them. Landowners can kill wildlife on their premises, including mountain lions, for damage to property or for being in or near buildings, but they cannot keep the animals after they have been shot.

Mitchener said the hunter in Trego County was able to take several pictures of the big cat as it was moving around in the clearing where the corn pile was located.

"It was less than a minute this cat was around there," he said.

"KDWP received photographs of the animal, and staff were able to verify that the location was in Kansas, and the story seemed legitimate," said Matt Peek, KDWP furbearer research biologist.

It's unknown where the mountain lion might have come from, but they have been seen with increasing frequency in other surrounding states since the 1990s. Most of the animals sighted elsewhere have been young males, capable of moving hundreds of miles in search of females and suitable habitat.

"KDWP receives numerous reports of mountain lion sightings annually," Peek said. "But almost all have either been cases of mistaken identity or lacked physical evidence indicating a mountain lion had been present."

"This is the first time that I know of that we've had pictures sent to us that you could tell what it was," Mitchener said.