Mountain lions continue to expand their range eastward across the con-tinent, and these large felids recently have reclaimed a portion of their for-mer range in North Dakota. Although mountain lions historically were considered scarce in the open prairie country, portions of North Dakota contained suitable habitat. According to historic records, lions were found along the Little Missouri River in the North Dakota badlands, Killdeer Mountains, and Missouri River Breaks in the 1800s. At that time, lions weren’t protected from indiscriminant

killing, and by the early 1900s, scien-tists believe that the population was extirpated. The last confirmed cougar kill in North Dakota was in 1902, when a 143-pound male lion was shot by Clarence Parker, 25 miles down the Missouri River from Williston on the south side of the river.

It isn’t known exactly when moun-tain lions returned to North Dakota. The earliest record documented by the North Dakota Game and Fish Depart-ment occurred in 1958, near Killdeer. From 1958 until 1991, there were 11 confirmed reports in the state. In

1991, after a young female lion was shot in a barn near Golva, lions were classified as a furbearer with a closed season. However, regulations still allowed landowners to kill a lion that was depredating poultry or domestic animals.

Having a protected status in North Dakota likely enabled a greater num-ber of mountain lions to survive as they either established in or traveled through the state. In the 12 years following protection of the species (1991-2003), the number of confirmed reports (26) more than doubled from

Mountain Lions in North DakotaBy Dorothy Fecske, Furbearer BiologistNorth Dakota Game and Fish Department

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the previous 33 years. When con-tinued presence of mountain lions in North Dakota was apparent, the Department, in 2004, adopted a more formal and consistent method of re-porting and verifying sightings based on investigating reports and obtain-ing physical evidence of the sighting, such as a photograph of the animal or its tracks, scat, hair, or kill site. Also, the Department prepared a mountain lion action plan to address interactions with humans or their property and be-gan developing educational materials to inform residents about lion ecology and behavior, and how to coexist with this large carnivore.

Mountain lions made the news on more than one occasion during 2004 and 2005. Two young females were killed in the North Dakota

badlands. One animal was shot in September 2004 by an archery hunter who felt threatened by the cat, and in March 2005 another female was illegally trapped and killed. In De-cember 2004, a lion wearing a radio collar was spotted near Turtle River State Park in Grand Forks County. The young male lion was a research animal from the Black Hills, South Dakota, a few hundred miles away. Researchers from South Dakota State University had lost track of the ani-mal three months before it turned up in North Dakota. The Department monitored the lion as it continued to travel north and east into Minnesota. Then, in June 2005, a lion behaved aggressively toward two mountain bikers who had taken a break for sup-per and to fix a flat tire. What started

out as a chance encounter in Theo-dore Roosevelt National Park turned into an unnerving experience as the lion approached within 10 feet of the bikers on two occasions. Ultimately, the animal left the area as the couple shouted and stood their ground. In ac-cordance with the Department’s action plan, an attempt, although unsuccess-ful, was made to remove this poten-tially aggressive animal. Finally, the Department initiated an experimental mountain lion season beginning Sep-tember 2005, to aid in assessing the status of lions in the state.

According to Section 2 of HB 1102, enacted by the 2005 legislature, the Department, in cooperation with tribal authorities, was directed to as-sess the status of mountain lions in North Dakota and report its findings

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Mountain Lions in North Dakota Dorothy Fecske

to the legislative council before July 1, 2006. The decision was made to learn about lions in North Dakota in a number of ways, including: reviewing reported sightings and historic re-cords, mapping suitable lion habitat to identify areas throughout the state that could either support a small number of lions and/or act as travel habitat or stopover sites for dispersing animals, and enlisting help of resident hunters through an experimental harvest and a survey questionnaire.

The statewide experimental harvest was set so the Department could gather locational and biologi-cal information on a small number of cats, without causing irreparable harm to the region’s lions, which include healthy populations in the neighbor-ing states of South Dakota and Mon-tana. The season started September 2, 2005, and would end March 12, 2006, or when a quota of five lions was reached. Having the season was a cost-effective way to obtain infor-mation, while providing citizens the opportunity to hunt mountain lions. A question on lions was added to the state’s annual big game survey to aid the Department in determining dis-tribution of sightings in North Da-kota. Also, the survey would provide information to help the Department to document statewide population trends through a measure of hunter effort (e.g., the number of hours hunters spent hunting and observing wildlife opening weekend of deer gun season and the number of lions seen for each deer hunting unit). Answers the De-partment was seeking included: Are there adult breeding females in the state? Is there an established popula-tion? What habitats are important to lions in North Dakota? Are lions found throughout the state or are they concentrated in a few regions? Can

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Mountain Lions in North Dakota Dorothy Fecske

Results of 2005 Experimental Mountain Lion Harvest: (9/2/05 – 1/15/06)

Lion Sex Date Age Weight (lbs) County _____________________________________________________________ #1 F 11/16/05 2.5 – 3 years 92 McKenzie#2 M 11/17/05 1.5 – 2 years 99 Dunn#3 M 12/31/05 4 – 5 years 140 McKenzie#4 M 1/6/06 2 – 2.5 years 111 Billings#5 F 1/1506 4 – 6 months 39 McKenzie

Above: Female kitten in North Dakota Badlands Photography © Andy Anderson

North Dakota support a sustainable lion population or does it serve mainly as dispersal habitat for young male lions?

Although analyses are not com-plete, the Department has gained a better understanding of mountain lions in North Dakota. Since 2001, there have been 47 confirmed lion sightings in North Dakota, includ-ing family groups. The majority of sightings were in McKenzie, Bill-ings and Golden Valley Counties, although a handful occurred in other portions of the state. Five lions were harvested during the experimental season that ended January 15, 2006, when the fifth animal was taken. All lions were taken in western North Dakota in the North Dakota badlands, Killdeer Mountains and near Fair-field. The first two animals were shot mid-November (November 16 and 17, respectively) during deer gun season. The first lion was a 92-pound, 2.5- to

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Mountain Lions in North Dakota Dorothy Fecske

3-year-old female, and the second, a 99-pound, 1.5- to 2-year-old male. Three lions were taken by houndsmen after being chased by dogs. The third lion, a 4- to 5-year-old, 140-pound male, was killed on December 31. The fourth lion, taken January 6, was a 2-year-old male and weighed 111 pounds. The fifth lion, a young 39-pound, 4- to 6-month-old female, was taken January 15. Harvested animals were in good nutritional condition based on analyses of organ fat re-serves and that they had fed on foods typically consumed by the species (e.g., deer, porcupine).

The mountain lion population in North Dakota is a puzzle. As each piece of information is added to the puzzle, a picture is beginning to emerge. It is now known that moun-tain lions either have recolonized or are in the process of recoloniz-ing North Dakota. Resident, breed-ing-aged females, older territorial

males, subadult males and females, and kittens have been documented in the state. The animals appear more concentrated in western North Dakota, and there is likely enough suitable habitat to sustain a small breeding population in the badlands.

Questions remain, however, and the Department currently is complet-ing analyses from information collect-ed in 2005, documenting additional lion sightings and making plans for the future. There are discussions un-derway on potential survey work next year in the North Dakota badlands to gain additional information on lion distribution and population trends and to document effects of the experi-mental season. Since the end of the first experimental season, four more confirmed sightings have been docu-mented in the badlands (three) and Killdeer Mountains (one). It appears the big cat once again is calling North Dakota home.

Below: North Dakota Badlands