Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials say they have killed a Blackfoot Valley mountain lion that stalked a four year-old girl at Harpers Lake Campground on July 23, 2012.
Around 11 p.m. Wednesday, August 1, State wildlife officials responded to a report of a mountain lion attacking a dog near a home on River Watch Trail, just a few miles north of Harpers Lake and dispatched it.
FWP officials pursued this unusually aggressive lion for more than a week in the lower Clearwater watershed. The lion killed was a 117-pound young adult male and matched the witness’ description and photos of the Harpers Lake lion, according to Kolbe.
In a press release, FWP Biologist, Jay Kolbe has this to say:
“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.”
FWP will transport the carcass to the FWP Wildlife Lab in Bozeman for further examination.
Here are some tips in the case of an encounter with a mountain lions:
- Keep small children and pets nearby.
- Immediately pick up small children and don’t run from or approach the lion.
- Give the lion room to leave the area.
- Remain standing and face the lion.
- Talk in a calm voice.
- Enlarge your image as much as possible.
- And if a lion attacks, fight back.
