KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska wildlife officials have determined that a reported mountain lion near The Archway in Kearney was actually just a dog.
A man fishing on a lake north of the monument, which spans Interstate 80 at Kearney, called Kearney police around noon Sunday to report seeing a mountain lion in the area.
Local law enforcement officers and a conservation officer from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission searched the area and found a set of animal tracks, but determined those tracks came from a dog, not a cougar.
Dale Johnson, a Buffalo County conservation officer, took photographs of the animal’s tracks and will forward them to a state biologist for a second opinion.