UPDATE - Friday, November 22, 12:50 p.m.

Updated information from wildlife specialist Bob Wiesner has confirmed that there was probably no mountain lion attack on a deer on Whitaker in the south hills area of Missoula.

Weisner said the homeowner assumed because of the noises she heard outside, that a lion was attacking a deer.

"When I got to the scene last night and spoke with the complainant, she was not able to find the dead deer," Wiesner said. "When I let my hounds out, they did not pick up any mountain lion scent, and these are experienced lion hunting dogs."

Wiesner said the woman probably misinterpreted the sounds she heard, because there have been lion sightings in the neighborhood.

"There's a lot of deer in that area, and the bucks are in rut," Wiesner said. "The noise she heard was probably a deer struggling to get over a fence, as there were a number of bucks out there last night doing their thing."

Wiesner encourages people to call Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks if they suspect a lion or a bear is in the neighborhood, and to check the website missoulabears.org for the latest sightings in the Missoula area.

Wildlife Specialist Bob Wiesner

Missoula police received a call just after 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 21 that a mountain lion had killed a deer in the yard of a home on the city's south side.

Sergeant Jim Klowitter said that wildlife specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Bob Wiesner was contacted, who took his dogs to the area of 600 Whitaker where the deer carcass was found.

Wiesner asked that police cars not come to the area so that the mountain lion could be more easily tracked. As of 4 a.m. on Friday, there was no word if Wiesner was able to successfully track the big cat.

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