Photo by Larry Moats North Dakota's mountain lion 2009 mountain lion season begins Friday with no changes from last year, as eight lions may be taken again this year.
Game and Fish Wildlife Division chief Randy Kreil said like every other hunting season it oversees in the state, department officials reviewed the previous season before considering any adjustments for 2009.
"The way we have adjusted mountain lion seasons is a good example of that," he said.
The mountain lion season is for residents only and again has two zones, with each zone opening Friday and closing March 31, 2010. Zone 1 is bordered by Montana, South Dakota and state and federal highways. The point where the boundary crosses Lake Sakakawea is a straight line from where North Dakota Highway 1804 lies directly across from North Dakota Highway 8.
In Zone 1, once a quota of eight lions is reached, the season closes immediately. The quota doesn't include lions taken by USDA Wildlife Services, the department, private landowners in defense of livestock, for human safety issues, road-killed animals, animals taken by traps or cable devices. Zone 2 is the remainder of the state not framed by Zone 1. Zone 2 has no quota for lions taken.Last year, hunters didn't reach the increased quota of lions in Zone 1 until March, so Kreil said that number "seems to be about right."
No lions were taken at all in Zone 2 last year, as Kreil added, "As time goes on, we know it's a hit-and-miss thing."
The public reaction to increasing the number of lions taken from five to eight last year was fairly well accepted by the public, Kreil said.
"By the public, I mean the broad spectrum of people we deal with regarding lions," Kreil said. "We frankly, received no negative feedback on last year's (mountain lion) hunting season."
Since it seemed like things worked well in 2008, Kreil said the decision was to keep regulations the same.
"North Dakota hunters, they like to have stability in their hunting regulations. We try to provide that as much as we can," he said.
The first two years the department held a mountain lion season, the quota was five lions statewide with no zones. After the second year, when four lions were killed outside of the Badlands, Kreil said the department went to a zone system to ensure that five cats could be taken in the prime area of habitat.
For the past two years, the department has operated with the two-zone system that has worked well. The first year of the zone system, the quota was five and last year it was increased to eight.
The biggest change, if you will, regarding mountain lions from a department perspective, comes in a shift of personnel this year. Dorothy Fecske, who helped the department to develop its original mountain lion management guidelines in the state, has moved to the East Coast. In her place, Glen Ullin native Stephanie Tucker returns to the state as the department's new furbearer biologist.
"Dorothy came to us at a very critical time as we were developing our mountain lion management scenario for the future," Kreil said.
Fecske had four to five years of experience trapping and tracking mountain lions in the Black Hills prior to her arrival in Bismarck.
"Her expertise when it cam to lion biology and lion interaction with the public was very helpful," Kreil said, adding the department was very fortunate to have her for the length of time that it did.
Meanwhile, Tucker joined the department on Aug. 17. She holds a bachelor's degree in zoology with a wildlife emphasis from North Dakota State University. She most recently earned her master's degree from Iowa State University in Ames, specifically studying mountain lions, Kreil said.
You may see and listen to Tucker on the department's Web site as she is featured in a video that reviews the 2009 mountain lion season. The Web address is http://gf.nd.gov.
Comments
Tim wrote on Sep 14, 2009 5:08 AM:
Mountain lions are cats and have been known to kill for sport.
There isn't enough out there to worry about, though when I saw pictures of one eating a deer not 3 miles from where I often fish, it made me a litle spooked.
They do eat deer. This is true. But the amount of deer they eat is negligible compared to winter kill, hunting, disease, and old age.
These are beautiful animals, and you aren't likely to ever see one when camping or fishing. But it's wise to keep your wits about you these days, if you are outdoors at night.
They were here, when we first arrived, and we drove them off and killed them all. Now they return, some say kill them all, some say kill none, bu the answer is always in the middle. Kill some. If there are no starving or diseased mountain lions, there are likely more full mountain lions. They won't need to compete for territory as much, and they can focus on.. surviving. Surviving us and North Dakota, which certainly isn't easy on them.
Glad to see them back, can't wait to hunt (or be hunted by) one some day. "
Frank wrote on Sep 9, 2009 1:26 PM:
I think there are only 2 reasons people in ND feel the cougars should be hunted, and the first reason is that the cougar hunts deer. Deer tags bring in a ton of money, and deer hunting is huge in the state. Game and fish have to protect their cash cow and keep the deer hunters happy. The second reason is fear. Let's get the numbers straight. According to the ND Game & Fish, there has never been a cougar attack on a human in the state of ND and between 1890-2004 there has only been 80 total cougar attacks on people in the USA, with 20 fatalities. Cougars tend to avoid humans. Your children playing in the yard are more likely to be injured and killed by a domestic dog than to be attacked by a cougar. "
Not Kittens wrote on Sep 6, 2009 9:23 AM:
ND Hunter wrote on Sep 4, 2009 9:00 AM:
sierrsmiss wrote on Sep 3, 2009 2:58 PM:
Frank wrote on Sep 3, 2009 1:44 PM: