CHADRON, Neb. (AP) – A Nebraska expert estimates that nearly 20 mountain lions have taken up residence in the Panhandle’s Pine Ridge area.  Sam Wilson is the non-game mammal and fur-bearing program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Wilson told the Lincoln Journal Star that dogs were used to find mountain lion droppings in Sioux, Dawes and Sheridan counties.  He says 33 samples were sent for detailed genetic analysis.  Wilson says that the test results and other information lead him to estimate that there are 19 mountain lions living in the Pine Ridge area.  Mountain lions, also called cougars and pumas, have turned up as far east in Nebraska as Omaha.