The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed a sixth sighting of a mountain lion in Missouri.

DNA testing was done on a tuft of hair left on a fence in Oregon County on March 9. The fence was along Highway M near Rover, Mo. A conservation agent retrieved the hair after receiving a report from an area resident who saw the cougar run across the road.

The witness said a full-grown mountain lion ran across the road in front of him and got its hind leg caught as it attempted to jump a fence on the opposite side of the road. The man said the animal struggled, but eventually escaped and left a cottonball size tuft of hair on the barbwire fence.

The hair was tested at the University of Missouri, but officials said the university’s lab does not have the material to evaluate the relationship to mountain lions from other geographic areas.

“We want to find out as much as possible about where the animal might have come from,” said  Jeff Beringer, MDC Resource Scientist. “So we will send the remaining hair sample to a genetics lab in Montana to determine the cat’s likely origin.”

Beringer said that testing could take several weeks to months.

This is the sixth verified mountain lion sighting in Missouri since late November and the 16th in modern times. In cases where carcasses have been available for examination, most have been young males. Young male mountain lions go in search of new territories when they mature. Beringer said MDC has no evidence to suggest that a breeding population of mountain lions exists in Missouri.

Mountain lions, also called cougars, panthers and pumas, were present in Missouri before pioneer settlement. The last documented Missouri mountain lion was killed in the Bootheel in 1927. The closest populations of mountain lions to Missouri are in South Dakota and a small population in northwest Nebraska.

Beringer said that MDC has never stocked or released mountain lions in Missouri and has no plans to do so.

To report a sighting, physical evidence or other mountain-lion incident, contact a local MDC office or conservation agent, or email the Mountain Lion Response Team at mountain.lion@mdc.mo.gov.

There have been no confirmed cases in Missouri of mountain lions attacking people, pets or livestock in modern times. For more information on mountain lions in Missouri, visit www.MissouriConservation.org and search “mountain lion.”

Several mountain lions have been seen in Missouri this year, and a hunter in La Plata admitted to shooting and killing a mountain lion in January.

Police decided not to charge the man in that case because the hunter said he felt threatened by the animal.

In February, officials in St. Louis held a meeting to discuss the mountain lion issue.