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Mountain Lion Report Equals Indoor Recess at Two Iowa City Schools
IOWA CITY, Iowa - An apparent sighting of a mountain lion reported to University Heights police Friday morning prompted at least two Iowa City elementary schools to keep kids inside for recess.
University Heights Police Chief Ron Fort said the report of a sighting near the playground at Horn Elementary School, 600 Koser Ave., came in at about 7:45 a.m. Friday. Chief Fort said two or three people called police to report seeing what they thought was a mountain lion. The chief said he cruised around the area and didn’t see any physicial evidence of a large cat. But he did consider the report credible enough to notify two nearby schools.
Fort said “sure, at least two people saw it and I’m certainly not going to doubt what two people considered to be a large animal.”
Both Horn Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary, 611 Greenwood, decided to keep all kids indoors for recess periods on Friday. The schools electronically notified parents of the reason.
Horn Elementary principal Kristin Cannon said as soon as notices went out, the calls started.
“We had parents call who were in disbelief of the situation and I explained what I heard and they were appreciative I had let them know,” Cannon said.
One Horn parent, Maryanne Nelson, didn’t know what to make of the electronic notice at first. Later, she said “I’m not terribly concerned, but I’ll be a little more careful with our kids….”
Chief Fort said while he saw no sign of a mountain lion in the area reported, he does know that deer congregate near Horn school and predators follow prey.
The chief says while the schools are in an urban setting, there is an approximately 17-acre wooded area west of Kinnick Stadium that could provide cover for such an animal.
School officials in Iowa City said unless there’s another sighting, kids will be allowed back on the playgrounds after the Labor Day holiday.
Because no trained spotter saw the animal, and there is no physical evidence yet, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will put this down as an unconfirmed report.
A DNR spokesperson said unconfirmed sightings are not unusual. There were four in different Iowa communities in just the last week.
IOWA CITY, Iowa - An apparent sighting of a mountain lion reported to University Heights police Friday morning prompted at least two Iowa City elementary schools to keep kids inside for recess.
University Heights Police Chief Ron Fort said the report of a sighting near the playground at Horn Elementary School, 600 Koser Ave., came in at about 7:45 a.m. Friday. Chief Fort said two or three people called police to report seeing what they thought was a mountain lion. The chief said he cruised around the area and didn’t see any physicial evidence of a large cat. But he did consider the report credible enough to notify two nearby schools.
Fort said “sure, at least two people saw it and I’m certainly not going to doubt what two people considered to be a large animal.”
Both Horn Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary, 611 Greenwood, decided to keep all kids indoors for recess periods on Friday. The schools electronically notified parents of the reason.
Horn Elementary principal Kristin Cannon said as soon as notices went out, the calls started.
“We had parents call who were in disbelief of the situation and I explained what I heard and they were appreciative I had let them know,” Cannon said.
One Horn parent, Maryanne Nelson, didn’t know what to make of the electronic notice at first. Later, she said “I’m not terribly concerned, but I’ll be a little more careful with our kids….”
Chief Fort said while he saw no sign of a mountain lion in the area reported, he does know that deer congregate near Horn school and predators follow prey.
The chief says while the schools are in an urban setting, there is an approximately 17-acre wooded area west of Kinnick Stadium that could provide cover for such an animal.
School officials in Iowa City said unless there’s another sighting, kids will be allowed back on the playgrounds after the Labor Day holiday.
Because no trained spotter saw the animal, and there is no physical evidence yet, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will put this down as an unconfirmed report.
A DNR spokesperson said unconfirmed sightings are not unusual. There were four in different Iowa communities in just the last week.