Dead cougar found in western Minn.

Wildlife officials will be trying to figure out what killed a male mountain lion in western Minnesota.

The mountain lion, or cougar, was found dead Monday morning near the town of Terrace, in Polk County.

DNR spokesman Dan Stark said the animal was picked up by a conservation officer and taken to Grand Rapids where the body will be examined. The 100-pound male had apparently been dead about a week, although Stark said there was no obvious cause of death.

"You we might know in the next week if they get the cougar into the lab, and do a necropsy and see something obvious how it was killed," Stark said.

The animal is the seventh confirmed cougar sighting in Minnesota in 14 months. The DNR said the animals are males, probably traveling from the western end of North and South Dakota.