Cougar captured, killed in ND Badlands

The Associated Press - Tuesday, January 16, 2007

BISMARCK, N.D.
 

A young male mountain lion was caught in a trap in North Dakota's Badlands, and later killed because of its condition, state Game and Fish officials said.

The cougar was snared on Monday in trap meant for bobcats, about 15 miles southwest of Watford City, Wildlife Division Chief Randy Kreil said.

The animal was euthanized after it was found, Kreil said.

"It had significant damage to a front foot and was in poor condition and cold," Kreil said. "The odds of that cat making it were slim to none."

The 46-pound mountain lion was less than a year old, biologist Dorothy Fecske said.

Kreil said the cougar could have been in the trap for up to four days before it was found by the trapper.

"He said the last time he checked the trap was four days before he found it, so it could have been up to four days, but we don't know for sure," Kreil said.

The mountain lion likely was born in North Dakota because of its young age, Fecske said. Fresh tracks from another cougar were found at the trap site, she said.

The dead cat will aid research, Fecske said.

"As with all the other cats harvested in North Dakota, we will be collecting biological samples to help us further understand the mountain lion population in the Badlands," Fecske said. "This animal is important to that effort.

Fecske said the trapper who caught the animal has pulled all his bobcat traps in the area to prevent another mountain lion capture.

A cougar captured in a trap in Billings County in November was fitted with a radio collar and released.

The 1 1/2-year-old, 108-pound cougar has stayed within a 25-square-mile area of where it was released in the Badlands, Kreil said.

"What we're learning is that they may not move as much in the winter as they do in the summer," Kreil said.

North Dakota's second mountain lion hunting season started Sept. 1 and ended Nov. 9, when five cougars were killed. The season was to run until March 11 if the limit of five was not reached.