Idaho Fish & Game staff get to do some extremely cool work in some of the most beautiful, wild places our state has to offer. The work our staff does in the field is critically important for monitoring and managing wildlife populations, but it can also be dangerous – as this video demonstrates.
Earlier this month, a wildlife technician in the Southwest Region headed out to do a cause-of-death investigation for a GPS-collared mule deer buck in the Owyhees. The investigation is part of an ongoing research project looking at various factors that affect buck survival, including season structures, hunt types, and how accessible a unit is to hunters.
When she arrived at the location provided by the collar, she encountered the adult mountain lion pictured in this video, along with two juveniles, near the deer carcass.
https://idfg.idaho.gov/media/oembed?url=https%3A//youtu.be/4malTO0VycU%3Fsi%3DJkkIIZLLYotuD38b&max_width=800&max_height=450&hash=wYwTjaP_QuvQfzEDXLndX4Lgi1h8dosAOb-F2dt2cb4
Encounters like this one are exceptionally rare. It represents a potentially risky worst-case scenario where a lion refuses to back down. Generally, encounters like this involve a mother with young or a single lion protecting a cached kill.
Her video demonstrates a great example of how to handle these situations:
- Do not run
- Do not turn your back on the lion, crouch down, or try to hide
- Remain facing the lion and slowly back away. Leave the animal an escape route
- Try to appear as large as possible
- Shout, wave your arms, and throw objects if the lion does not back off
Based on investigations in the Owyhees in recent years, mountain lion predation is a leading cause of death in both mule deer and California bighorn sheep. Because of that, Fish and Game staff expect they might walk into a mountain lion kill whenever they receive a mortality signal from a GPS collar in these units.
However, seeing a mountain lion during these investigations remains uncommon. They are typically shy and secretive creatures, and their most common response to human presence is to run away. That’s particularly true when you’re making a lot of noise to announce your presence, which our staff does anytime they’re walking in to investigate a potential lion kill.
Source: Idaho Fish and Game
