Outdoors

Mountain lion believed to have approached child at campground killed

Posted: Aug 2, 2012 10:35 AM by MTN News

MISSOULA - State wildlife officials say they believe they have killed the mountain lion that approached a 4-year-old child at Harpers Lake Campground in the Blackfoot Valley on July 23.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks personnel have been at the campground in the lower Clearwater watershed for more than a week and were able to track and kill the lion on the late evening of Aug. 1, according to a news release.

FWP biologist Jay Kolbe and wildlife conflict specialist, Bob Wiesner, dispatched the lion around 11 p.m. after responding to a report of a lion attack on a dog near a home on River Watch Trail, several miles north of Harpers Lake.

"We are relieved to have this lion out of the area," said Kolbe. "Its approach on that child last week was a signal that this lion might continue approaching people, and it had not responded to multiple attempts to frighten it away."

Kolbe said that the lion killed matches the witness' descriptions and photos of the Harper's lion. The lion was a 117-pound young adult male with little fat and an empty stomach, according to Kolbe. FWP will transport the carcass to the FWP Wildlife Lab in Bozeman for further examination.

Kolbe suspects that it is a different set of lions that have been sighted recently at Salmon Lake Campground.

Click here to learn about how to stay safe around mountain lions.