Game and Fish Department says mountain lion killed in Badlands

Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. - A rancher killed a female mountain lion on his Badlands ranch after he found it fighting with his dogs, the state Game and Fish Department said Monday.

Randy Kreil, chief of the Game and Fish wildlife division, said Kelly Hanna shot the mountain lion on Sunday. He said the cougar appeared to be a young female weighing about 80 pounds.

"The first indication is that it's a non-breeding female, less than 3 years of age," Kreil said.

Hanna did not immediately return telephone calls on Monday.

Game warden Brent Schwan said in a statement that the rancher heard a commotion involving his dogs early Sunday, and found the lion in a tree about 50 yards from his house east of Watford City. The rancher went to get a rifle and came back to find the cougar on the ground in a fight with his dogs, and he then shot the lion, Schwan said.

"One of the dogs was slightly injured," Kreil said.

Hanna called Schwan, who took the carcass to Dickinson for storage until it could be examined.

"State law specifically allows the killing of mountain lions to protect individuals or their property. The law also requires the Game and Fish Department must be notified, which the rancher did," the department's statement said.

The state's second mountain lion season is tentatively scheduled from next Sept. 1 to March 11, or until five lions have been killed. The Game and Fish Department said the lion killed over the weekend will not be included in the quota.