lion prowling Rapid City killed
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:32 am
from the Rapid City Journal:
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/article ... 086946.txt
Wildcat chased all night, killed near Boston's
Residents question attempts to shoot mountain lion in neighborhood
By Ryan Woodard, Journal staff Tuesday, March 25, 2008
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Editor's Note: This story has changed from its original version
It took an all-night chase spanning more than 6 miles, but authorities were finally able Monday morning to track down and kill a mountain lion that was spotted in Rapid Valley Sunday night.
The cat was killed in a culvert behind Boston's Restaurant at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
However, one Rapid Valley resident is questioning why officials initially shot at the lion in his neighborhood earlier Sunday night.
Robert Brooks lives in Williamsburg Estates, near the area where Pennington County Sheriff's Office deputies shot at the cat after being instructed to do so by South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks.
GF&P officials authorized other law enforcement to shoot at the animal because it was seen as a danger to the public, but Brooks doesn't believe it was a safe tactic.
"They've got plenty of dogs they could have chased it off with before starting to shoot in residential areas," he said.
Brooks heard the shots at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. He thought a robbery occurred and police were shooting at a suspect.
The cougar, which was fitted with a radio collar, was spotted initially about 8:40 p.m. near Longview Road in Rapid Valley. GF&P crews, which included trapper Jack Alexander and his dogs, conducted a search within a 1-mile radius of the location.
South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department regional wildlife manager John Kanta called the search off after about an hour but told Pennington County deputies to keep watching for the lion.
Shortly thereafter, a Pennington County deputy was making a traffic stop on Highway 44 south of Black Hills Speedway when he saw the cat cross the road, Kanta said. The deputy and another officer took off after the cat and shot at it, believing they probably hit and injured the animal.
Kanta already had authorized the deputies to take out the animal if given a chance, because its behavior met GF&P requirements for lion removal: it was inside city limits and running near houses.
He said the deputies used shotguns, and there was an embankment behind the animal. Both factors decreased the risks of shooting at the lion in town, he said.
"They did have a nice backstop there and a good shot," he said.
But the deputies lost track of the animal, and Alexander and his hounds were brought to that area. The hounds indicated a lion in the area, but a three-hour search turned up nothing.
Kanta again called off the search to consult the Global Positioning System device and found the lion moved to an area east of Valley Drive. By then it was 3 a.m., and crews conducted another search in that area until 5 a.m. before stopping to use the GPS again.
At about 8:30 a.m., the GPS indicated the cat was near Boston's restaurant, which is on La Crosse Street near Rushmore Mall.
The all-night chase spanned more than 6 miles.
The 110-pound, 1-1/2 to 2 year-old male cat was killed in a culvert behind Boston's Monday morning, according to Kanta.
Had the mountain lion not been affixed with one of the radio collars that the GF&P uses to track the creatures, it probably wouldn't have been found, Kanta said.
"In this case, we were able to get locations and kind of narrow our search down," he said. "So that really helped."
The radio-collar device had been malfunctioning, which made it more difficult for GF&P officials to get an exact location on the cat.
The cat was chased through several areas of Rapid City -- including residential and business districts.
Kanta said the search was made more difficult because crews had to be extremely cautious chasing the creature through residential neighborhoods. The lion was moving fast, which meant it left little scent and made the work of GF&P hounds much more time consuming.
Kanta said crews used extreme caution throughout the chase. The Pennington County Sheriff's Office and South Dakota Highway Patrol assisted in keeping bystanders away and in some cases, warning people to stay in their houses.
"We always use safety in these situations, and we're very conscious of the public and their safety," he said.
Kanta said the lion became more of a risk after it had been shot at and was possibly injured.
The cat will be sent to South Dakota State University, where a full necropsy will be performed.
Kanta said the cat appeared to be completely healthy but was, unfortunately, "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/article ... 086946.txt
Wildcat chased all night, killed near Boston's
Residents question attempts to shoot mountain lion in neighborhood
By Ryan Woodard, Journal staff Tuesday, March 25, 2008
128 comment(s) Normal Size Increase font Size
Editor's Note: This story has changed from its original version
It took an all-night chase spanning more than 6 miles, but authorities were finally able Monday morning to track down and kill a mountain lion that was spotted in Rapid Valley Sunday night.
The cat was killed in a culvert behind Boston's Restaurant at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
However, one Rapid Valley resident is questioning why officials initially shot at the lion in his neighborhood earlier Sunday night.
Robert Brooks lives in Williamsburg Estates, near the area where Pennington County Sheriff's Office deputies shot at the cat after being instructed to do so by South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks.
GF&P officials authorized other law enforcement to shoot at the animal because it was seen as a danger to the public, but Brooks doesn't believe it was a safe tactic.
"They've got plenty of dogs they could have chased it off with before starting to shoot in residential areas," he said.
Brooks heard the shots at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. He thought a robbery occurred and police were shooting at a suspect.
The cougar, which was fitted with a radio collar, was spotted initially about 8:40 p.m. near Longview Road in Rapid Valley. GF&P crews, which included trapper Jack Alexander and his dogs, conducted a search within a 1-mile radius of the location.
South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department regional wildlife manager John Kanta called the search off after about an hour but told Pennington County deputies to keep watching for the lion.
Shortly thereafter, a Pennington County deputy was making a traffic stop on Highway 44 south of Black Hills Speedway when he saw the cat cross the road, Kanta said. The deputy and another officer took off after the cat and shot at it, believing they probably hit and injured the animal.
Kanta already had authorized the deputies to take out the animal if given a chance, because its behavior met GF&P requirements for lion removal: it was inside city limits and running near houses.
He said the deputies used shotguns, and there was an embankment behind the animal. Both factors decreased the risks of shooting at the lion in town, he said.
"They did have a nice backstop there and a good shot," he said.
But the deputies lost track of the animal, and Alexander and his hounds were brought to that area. The hounds indicated a lion in the area, but a three-hour search turned up nothing.
Kanta again called off the search to consult the Global Positioning System device and found the lion moved to an area east of Valley Drive. By then it was 3 a.m., and crews conducted another search in that area until 5 a.m. before stopping to use the GPS again.
At about 8:30 a.m., the GPS indicated the cat was near Boston's restaurant, which is on La Crosse Street near Rushmore Mall.
The all-night chase spanned more than 6 miles.
The 110-pound, 1-1/2 to 2 year-old male cat was killed in a culvert behind Boston's Monday morning, according to Kanta.
Had the mountain lion not been affixed with one of the radio collars that the GF&P uses to track the creatures, it probably wouldn't have been found, Kanta said.
"In this case, we were able to get locations and kind of narrow our search down," he said. "So that really helped."
The radio-collar device had been malfunctioning, which made it more difficult for GF&P officials to get an exact location on the cat.
The cat was chased through several areas of Rapid City -- including residential and business districts.
Kanta said the search was made more difficult because crews had to be extremely cautious chasing the creature through residential neighborhoods. The lion was moving fast, which meant it left little scent and made the work of GF&P hounds much more time consuming.
Kanta said crews used extreme caution throughout the chase. The Pennington County Sheriff's Office and South Dakota Highway Patrol assisted in keeping bystanders away and in some cases, warning people to stay in their houses.
"We always use safety in these situations, and we're very conscious of the public and their safety," he said.
Kanta said the lion became more of a risk after it had been shot at and was possibly injured.
The cat will be sent to South Dakota State University, where a full necropsy will be performed.
Kanta said the cat appeared to be completely healthy but was, unfortunately, "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com
and start letting us use hounds to control the population. Ross