Are you a walker? A runner? Do you spend a lot of times outdoors?

 

You might want to stay aware and keep a good eye out for a possible mountain lion in the area.

 

Jim Hyrkas of Becker Twp. came across a slew of paw prints running the length of his driveway Thursday afternoon that to him, wasn’t anything he’d seen before.

 

“They look like a big cat’s paws,” he said. “I’ve been on the internet looking and comparing.”

 

Hyrkas takes the relatively long hike down his driveway everyday from his home to his mailbox along Hwy. 25 to retrieve his newspaper and mail, but Thursday’s walk had his eyes catch the heavy footprint of a wild animal in the soft soil. The footsteps of the cat appear to show the animal casually strolling up the driveway, veering between his detached garage and his home, then disappearing in the sliver of trees near the highway.

 

Hyrkas said he called and left his number with the DNR to have them come out and verify the track, so he covered one of the best specimens with a heavy metal bucket to keep it from getting washed away in the rain.

 

The pawprints he observed measure around five inches in length and distinctly show claws associated with the “toes”. Mountain lions have long been rumored to be wandering the likes of Sherburne County, but this is the first time Hyrkas has come across a close encounter.

 

“I called my son and he warned me to keep an eye out up in the trees,” Hyrkas said. “That’s where they like to perch when they hunt.”

 

Anyone else encounter some paw prints or actual sightings of these big cats? Give us a call or shoot us an email at the Citizen-Tribune.