Dodge City ? The recent discovery of a dead mountain lion in western Kansas marks five mountain lion confirmations in the state since August.

The Wichita Eagle reports the previous four confirmations this year have been made through trail camera photos, sightings and videos. A landowner near Dodge City contacted the department last week after finding an underweight dead mountain lion in a shed.

Matt Peek, furbearer biologist with the department, said the mountain lion was found with its head stuck in the blades of a tiller. However, he noted that the cat’s poor physical condition more likely contributed to its death than the idle machinery. Many ribs and other bones were visible beneath the cat’s hide.

“In fact, there were no signs of struggle like it tried to free itself,” Peek said. “Had it been a healthy cat restrained like that, there’d have been all kinds of struggle.”

Peek said many things could have led to his death, including jaw or mouth problems that would have made eating difficult, or diseases like distemper or the plague.

Kansas went more than a century without a confirmed wild mountain lion sighting, according to the state Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. But there have been 14 confirmations since one was killed by a Barber County landowner in 2007.

Friday’s find is the first time the department has encountered a Kansas mountain lion carcass since the first confirmation in 2007.

Peek said a couple of the four confirmations since August could be the same cat.

“That’s based on the timing and location,” Peek said. “It appeared to be moving in a common direction.”

The department said Kansas is one of many states to have increased mountain lion confirmations over about the past decade. It’s thought many of the cats have wandered from South Dakota or the Rocky Mountains.

Peek said he thinks the mountain lions are just passing through Kansas while looking for better habitat.

“Just because we get a cluster of reports doesn’t mean people need to start worrying about anything,” he said.