Fish and Game Traps/Kills Mountain Lion in Boise

Confirming months of speculation, a young mountain lion was captured and killed in a control action on Friday, March 5 near Warm Springs Mesa in east Boise. The action came on the heels of a March 4 report of a lion being hit by an automobile on Warm Springs Road. The trapping effort continues as fresh sign indicates that at least one more cat is using the area. Responding to the motorist's report, and with the assistance of a local houndsman, Fish and Game officers successfully cornered the cat when it sought refuge in a large diameter culvert. When attempts to force the animal from the culvert failed, officers set a large cage trap across the culvert entrance and blocked the opposite end with rocks. A check of the trap on Friday morning yielded a 99-pound male mountain lion, close to 12 months of age, and probably too young to be independent of its mother. "The cat's age and other physical evidence leads us to believe that other cats were likely traveling with this one," Fish and Game wildlife manager Jon Rachael said. "There's a chance that this cat's mother and perhaps a litter-mate may still be in the area." Since last summer, dozens of mountain lion sightings have been reported to Fish and Game, many of them from the area between the Warm Springs Mesa subdivision and Parkcenter Boulevard on the opposite side of the Boise River. "Lions are frequent visitors to the valley, and most simply pass through on their way to other areas," regional conservation educator Evin Oneale said. "Our concern grows when a lion decides to take up residence in close proximity to a residential area." The frequency of mountain lion reports in the vicinity of the capture area suggests that the lion had been making a pretty good living among the homes along the Boise River, likely feeding on deer, raccoons and probably domestic cats. Although no aggressive behavior was reported with respect to the mountain lion, "we've been taking these reports and this situation very, very seriously," Rachael said. Only one serious mountain lion attack on a human has been reported in Idaho in the last several decades, though numerous people have been attacked and killed in other western states and Canadian Provinces in recent years. "We are not interested in taking that risk by allowing a mountain lion to coexist in a residential area within city limits if we can prevent it," Rachael noted. Department policy does not allow for release of mountain lions captured in urban settings. "That policy is shaped by a number of factors, including the fact that, though extremely rare, mountain lion attacks on humans do occur," Oneale said. "It would be irresponsible for us to knowingly release a lion exhibiting the behavior pattern of residing in an urban area at the risk of having it repeat that same pattern somewhere else." Persons spotting a mountain lion in a residential area are urged to contact Fish and Game's Nampa office at 465-8465. After hour and weekend sightings should be reported to State Police Dispatch at 846-7500.