Mountain lions in Pike County, Georgia? I received a call from a Pike County resident a few years ago and he said he had seen a mountain lion on his property. Several people have told me they have seen mountain lions in Pike County, including a state patrol officer, so I thought I would follow up with the state DNR.

When I called the DNR office I was told mountain lions are not native to Georgia and they do not follow up on any sightings.

A few years ago Georgia Outdoor News ran an article about mountain lions in Georgia and mapped the sightings. The DNR does not follow up on sightings because there has never been any confirmed evidence of one here. None have ever been hit by cars, no bodies have been recovered and no tracks have been confirmed.

Then one was killed during deer season about 60 miles away in Troop County. It was thought to be an escaped caged one, or a young male from Florida looking for new territory. Either way, it way a confirmed mountain lion in our area.

It is interesting to think there are parts of our area that are still so wild that mountain lions could live here. Since the DNR does not follow up on sightings, maybe that is why there have never been any confirmed tracks. But there have never been any pictures that were valid, and no dead lions have ever been found. So the question is still somewhat open, as far as I am concerned.

If you sight one, try to get a good picture or find tracks – without endangering yourself!