OMAHA — Nebraska’s No. 1 champion of mountain lions has been watching all the fuss and fascination in the news media over one of the big cats mysteriously making its way around southwest Omaha.

And former State Sen. Ernie Chambers — who during his 46 years in the Legislature tried to outlaw the hunting of mountain lions in the state — said it’s times like this that he wishes he was still in office.

He said he’d be pressuring Nebraska Game and Parks and area police officials to seek national expertise on how to capture the animal alive, and without a messy ending.

“If that lion was of a mind to kill anybody and eat anybody in Omaha it would have been done,” said Chambers. “Mountain lions are very shy. They avoid people.”

But the Game and Parks Commission issued a statement reiterating its protocol to kill the mountain lion if it was spotted within city limits, saying public safety is top priority.

Media reports tracking the elusive cat since the first confirmed sighting on a doorbell camera July 24 have drawn mixed emotions.

Several people interviewed by local TV stations were fearful, particularly for their pets and kids. Others were protective of the cat, including some on social media pushing for compassion. KETV showed one homeowner’s water dish, sleeping cushion and sign outside their doorstep: “Welcome to the neighborhood Mountain Lion!”

Chambers, 86, pointed out his preference to the Nebraska Examiner after he spoke at an unrelated event this weekend.

He pulled up to the venue in his gray Honda, which has license plates sporting an image of a mountain lion. The lettering: CUGR 1.

Chambers had pressed for the specialized Nebraska plate during his time as a lawmaker, after his effort to stop mountain lion hunting failed to override a veto by then-Gov. Dave Heineman.

The extra money Nebraskans pay for a mountain lion plate goes to a fund to provide education programs on wildlife conservation practices. Chambers said he was granted the inaugural cougar plate.

Asked about the sightings that have had the Omaha metro area abuzz, Chambers shared his thought: “That I need to be in the Legislature so I could have some influence in terms of what the Game and Parks Commission and even these local police agencies would do.”

He recalled how he fought against budget increases for the commission, which supported the hunt of mountain lions that are native to Nebraska but were eliminated by the early 1900s due to poisoning, trapping and hunting. The first modern confirmation of a return to the state, according to the commission, was in 1991.

“I didn’t want them killed for nothing, especially for these ‘big shots’ who wanted to come in and pay the money,” Chambers said.

He defended the “solitary” animal as a natural inhabitant of the state that does not live in a pride, or group.

“They were not bothering anybody. They were not killing a lot of stock. Eagles take more baby livestock than mountain lions ever did,” he said.

But in the ongoing case, the mountain lion was spotted on camera strolling close to homes near the Papillion Creek in southwest Omaha and Sarpy County.

Chambers said he has tuned in to reports of the animal’s actions and concluded it wasn’t being interested in humans.

He quipped: “This mountain lion won’t eat a Nebraskan. They got better taste than that.”

This story was originally published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. It is part of the national nonprofit States Newsroom. Find more at nebraskaexaminer.com.