2/7/2007

Another Mountain Lion Caught in Western North Dakota

An immature mountain lion found dead last week in a bobcat snare in western North Dakota is the second young cat inadvertently taken in a two-week span in roughly the same area.

A young 50-pound male lion was found Jan. 30 about 10 miles northwest of Grassy Butte in McKenzie County. In mid-January, a bobcat trapper found a 46-pound male lion in one of his traps north of Theodore Roosevelt National Park's North Unit. Both lions were less than a year old, and were caught within 11 miles of each other.

Because of their young age, both cats were almost certainly born in North Dakota, said Dorothy Fecske, furbearer biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

"We appreciate the trapper contacting us," Fecske said. "As with all the other cats harvested in North Dakota, biological samples may help us determine if these animals are related."

A third lion, caught in a trap in the badlands in November, was fitted with a radio-collar and released. Game and Fish biologists have been monitoring this lion weekly and have found the animal staying within a 25-square-mile area.