Game wardens in central Montana say several illegally harvested mountain lions last year highlight a growing problem of hunters pulling the trigger before purchasing the proper license.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, five mountain lions were reported harvested during the general big game season in Region 4, which covers much of central Montana. But when wardens reviewed those cases, they discovered three of the five hunters had purchased their mountain lion license that same day.
Aneesa Coomer reports - watch the video here:
Dave Hagengruber, Communication and Education Program Manager with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 4 says the timing raised red flags during the normal reporting process.
“When a hunter harvests a lion, they have to report it and bring the animal in to be checked and tagged,” Hagengruber says. “The wardens saw that the same day they reported shooting the lion was the same day they bought the license, so that just warrants a little more follow-up.”
After further investigation, wardens determined the three hunters had taken the animals before obtaining the required license.
“Three of the five were taken by hunters who bought a license after they had already killed a lion,” Hagengruber says. “That’s a violation of the law.”
Mountain lion hunting in Montana is tightly managed to maintain healthy populations while still allowing hunting opportunities. In Region 4, mountain lions can be harvested during several seasons, including archery season, the general rifle season that overlaps with deer and elk hunting, and a winter hound season that begins December 1.
To prevent overharvest, the region is divided into lion management units, each with its own quota for total harvest as well as sub-quotas for male and female lions.
Hagengruber says those quotas are designed to protect the long-term health of mountain lion populations.
“We don’t want to overharvest lions,” Hagengruber says. “It’s fine to take some, but we want to maintain healthy populations while still allowing the opportunity for hunters to take a lion if they want to.”
Wildlife officials say many of the violations appear to happen during unexpected encounters in the field. Hunters pursuing deer or elk may suddenly spot a mountain lion and act on impulse, even if they do not have a license.
“I think what happens is they see a lion and it just gets the better of them,” Hagengruber says. “They think this might be my one and only chance to ever take one, so they shoot the lion and then figure they’ll deal with the license issues later.”
But Hagengruber says that decision can be costly. In the three cases investigated last season, hunters combined faced more than $3,000 in fines and restitution, and the illegally taken animals were confiscated.
FWP officials say obtaining a mountain lion license ahead of time is simple and relatively inexpensive.
“It’s an easy process to obtain a license,” Hagengruber says. “You can buy it in person, online, or on the phone, and they’re less than $20. If you think you might want to take a lion someday, it’s best to just buy that license when you get your regular hunting and fishing licenses and you’re set for the year.”
So far this season, the number of harvested lions in Region 4 remains well below the allowable limit. The regional quota totals 140 lions across several management units, but only 62 lions have been harvested so far.
Hagengruber says the slower pace may be related to a relatively mild winter, which can make mountain lion hunting more difficult.
FWP says mountain lion licenses will be available again ahead of the next season. Hunters can purchase them online, by phone, or through licensed vendors across the state.
From the Montana Field Guide:
A large cat with an elongate body, powerful limbs, small head, short face, short rounded ears, long neck and long, round, black-tipped tail.
Two color phases: buff, cinnamon, and tawny to cinnamon rufous and ferruginous, and silvery gray to bluish and slaty gray; young are buffy with dark spots, and the eyes are blue for the first few months; color of upperparts is most intense midorsally; sides of muzzle and backs of ears are black; underparts are dull whitish with buff wash across the belly; end of tail is dark brown or blackish; adult total length 171 to 274 cm in males, 150 to 233 cm in females; adult tail length 53 to 81 cm; greatest length of skull 172 to 237 mm in males, 158 to 203 mm in females.
Eyes set forward on head for sight hunting. Adult males weigh 150 to 190 lbs., females 70 to 120 lbs. Solitary, except for females accompanied by males or kittens. Females den in caves, rock crevices, brush piles, etc. with kittens and leave them there while hunting; usually hunt by stealth at night and cover unused food for later use. Males territorial, and large male home ranges may overlap smaller ones of females.
Residents should report any possible mountain lion sightings immediately to law enforcement or to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
