KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A mountain lion killed last year in Kearney will become the mascot of a new elementary school in the central Nebraska city.
The Kearney school district acquired the carcass and plans to have it stuffed and mounted. Then the cougar will go on display at Kenwood Elementary.
Superintendent Brian Maher says he thinks the stuffed cougar will be an educational tool and an artful presence at the school. Donations are paying for the taxidermy.
Police killed the mountain lion in May 2011 after it was spotted roaming through several yards one morning.
State wildlife officials studied the 2-year-old cougar and didn’t find anything wrong with it. The skull is on display at the Game and Parks Commission office in Kearney.