I got the word from the state on Monday — there are no wild mountain lions living in Kansas.

But since I reported that my wife and I saw one Thursday evening on Kansas University’s west campus, I’ve had nearly a dozen people tell me about their own close encounters with these large, unidentified feline objects.

That includes two people who also claim to have seen mountain lions on or near Kansas University’s west campus in the last year. One man even told he hit one with his car.

Last Thursday, my wife Diane and I spotted one as we were driving a gravel road on west campus that runs from Westbrook Drive, up a hill to a radio tower just west of the new Dole Institute of Politics.

We saw a large, brown or black feline-like animal with a long tail walking ahead of us as we drove up the hill. The animal disappeared into the thick brush and trees as we approached.

Back up

After my report in Saturday’s Journal-World, I’ve been getting e-mail and phone calls from others who also have seen mountain lions in the Lawrence area. The reports range from three weeks ago to 25 years ago.

Aside from reports such as mine, there is no evidence, photographic or otherwise, of wild mountain lions in Kansas, said Chad Luce of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

And despite coffee-shop rumors, the state isn’t releasing mountain lions to cut down on the deer population, Luce said.

Scott Getter, who works in landscape maintenance for Kansas University's facilities and operations department, has seen a mountain lion four or five times near a wooded area on KU's west campus. Getter pointed out the area Monday.

“My guess is what you saw was an escaped or released animal,” Luce said. “As far as mountain lions making a comeback, no.”

Many disagree with him.

“Dave, I saw the same kind of animal last year, running across Crestline (Drive) as it comes down from the Lied Center,” wrote KU Senior Vice Provost Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett. “It was at sunset, and it ran across the road from the woods on the west side of the road into those on the east side. No one believed me either.”

She’s not alone among KU employees.

Scott Getter, who works for KU’s facilities and operations department, e-mailed me about his sightings at KU.

¢6News video: Sightings of big cats abound in area¢ Audio interview with Chad Luce, public information officer for Kansas Wildlife and Parks¢Mountain lion may prowl running route through KU’s west campus (8-9-03)¢Mountain lion killed in crash probably wild (3-22-03)¢K-State to record Kansas puma sightings¢What to do if you encounter a puma

Getter walked the gravel road with me Monday afternoon and showed me where he had four or five times seen a lion crossing the road. The last time was in September. We didn’t find any tracks.

I also got a call Monday morning from Keith Chauvin, associate dean at KU’s business school. Chauvin said he spotted what he thought was a mountain lion about 7 a.m. last March on 15th Street as he was driving east between Monterey Way and Kasold Drive.

Chauvin said it ran in front of him and he clipped it with the left front of his car. He turned his car around to see what it was, but it was gone.

“I couldn’t swear it was a mountain lion. But I felt very confident it was a big cat,” he said. “It was the size and color of a chocolate Labrador retriever, but it had the stride and motion of a cat.”

Chauvin said he called police because he was worried it might be injured out in the woods. But he said he never heard back about it.

‘Not a bobcat’

Another KU employee, Paula Conlin, facilities coordinator at Nichols Hall on west campus, said she saw one in the same area three to four years ago.

Conlin said it was early morning as she was walking from 23rd Terrace north on Melholland Road up north of West 19th Street. She was following a path through an undeveloped area that took her up to Youngberg Hall.

“It was a lighter color. It definitely had a long tail. It was not a bobcat,” Conlin said. She backed away and went to a friend’s home to report the sighting to KU police. An officer came and looked around. But he couldn’t find any evidence of it, she said.

Among the other reports I received:

• A man said he was out running three weeks ago early in the morning, about 6 a.m., in the Prairie Park/Mary’s Lake area.

He wrote, “Coming around a corner, I’m surprised to see a big cat — much bigger than any house or stray cat — standing on the edge of the running trail no more than 50 feet in front of me. I was able to observe it for a couple seconds before it noticed me. My first thought was, that’s definitely not a bobcat, as I’ve seen enough to know they indeed have short tails and this cat’s tail reached down to the running path and curled a bit.”

He told some friends, who joked with him about seeing things, so he didn’t report it.

• Another man reported that three years ago he was watching a deer early in the morning near Baldwin, “when a brownish flash bounded in plain view. The buck had not a chance, as the lion bounded to a point about 10 yards behind. The buck then bolted to a wooded area with the lion gaining every bound.”

He wrote that the lion’s bounds were higher than the height of the buck.

“It reminded us of a scene from Africa,” he wrote.

• Another woman left me a phone message that she saw one about three years ago near the wetlands on Louisiana Street. She said it crossed in front of her on a dark, misty night. She said her husband also spotted one at the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant near De Soto.

“I can confirm there are mountain lions in this area,” she said.

We’ll just leave it at that.