Hounds chased a Yellowstone National Park
mountain lion into a tree. Then Montana
Gov. Greg Gianforte shot it.
Washington Post,
by
Joshua Partlow
Original Article
Posted By: Beardo,
3/3/2022 9:06:26 AM
GARDINER, Mont.— On public land north of Yellowstone National Park late last year, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) shot and killed a mountain lion that was being monitored by National Park Service staff, after hunting dogs had chased it up a tree. The mountain lion hunt, which has not been previously reported, occurred on Dec. 28 on a swath of U.S. Forest Service land southwest of Emigrant, Mont., according to residents familiar with the episode who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships in the community.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Chiritwo 3/3/2022 9:10:41 AM (No. 1088422)
Have to sign in to ready article.
2 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Chiritwo 3/3/2022 9:11:05 AM (No. 1088424)
read - auto correct
1 person likes this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
felixcat 3/3/2022 9:13:37 AM (No. 1088429)
I don't like using dogs to hunt. Saw too many when I was stationed in South Carolina of them wandering along the interstate. As for the hunt, it is US Forest land and they do allow hunting although the sport of shooting a treed mountain lion escapes me.
18 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Califedup 3/3/2022 9:14:49 AM (No. 1088431)
The horror, oh the horror of this butchery of a friendly, cuddly, oh so cute mountain lion! The governor should resign at once.
10 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Venturer 3/3/2022 9:15:39 AM (No. 1088432)
Did he break a law or just hurt the delicate sensibilities of a few people with an axe to grind.
34 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
felixcat 3/3/2022 9:16:19 AM (No. 1088434)
Sorry but second post. No need to log in to read article.
And spare us the euphemism of the mountain lion was "harvested." It was shot and killed. It was not an ear of corn being harvested out of the ground.
10 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Jennie C. 3/3/2022 9:17:48 AM (No. 1088436)
The article says it was legal, so what's the beef?
31 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
downnout 3/3/2022 9:18:30 AM (No. 1088438)
Any rancher will tell you mountain lions are fierce predators. When they kill your animals you have a different perspective from the pearl clutches at the WaPo.
37 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Roscoelewis 3/3/2022 9:21:03 AM (No. 1088441)
...no justification for killing these creatures. ...just murder.
10 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
D S Craft 3/3/2022 9:44:53 AM (No. 1088483)
Oh for heavens sake. The world stands on the brink of a world war and the Wapo is worried about someone killing a mountain lion. BFD. Mountain lions are dangerous, apex predators. They can and will kill you given the opportunity so there is plenty of justification for killing them. Chasing them up a tree just makes them easier to hit. Well done, gov.
27 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
bigfatslob 3/3/2022 9:45:19 AM (No. 1088485)
In my youth I use to hunt. It was hard work and a bit expensive. I never killed an animal I wouldn't eat but now I don't feel one way or another about hunting. If it was done on public lands and not inside a national park making the act legal what's the problem? I'm no fan of people who hunt with dogs and this killing of the mountain lion might have done something for a rancher. Mountain lions are much more dangerous to rancher's livestock and people than wolves are.
14 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
red1066 3/3/2022 9:45:36 AM (No. 1088486)
Part of Yellowstone National Park is in Montana. Was there any reason for shooting this cat? Are we to assume the Gov. just happen to be in the area? I understand livestock may have been at risk, but since wild animals don't adhere to park boundaries, I would think losing a few livestock would be part of doing business near a wildlife preserve. After all, there are large pack of wolves in the park as well, and from what I understand, the park service does allow limited hunting in the park at times to basically thin the herds. The part that bothers me is the use of dogs to hunt. Using dogs seems to me to be the lazy man's way of hunting.
7 people like this.
Was the mountain lion a problem/threat, or was the creature just exploring the territory? Not sure how I feel about this one to be honest. If this was an ego hunt for the governor, this could pose a problem for him.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
jhpeters2 3/3/2022 10:12:16 AM (No. 1088517)
Washington Post. There is more to this story than Puss N Boots getting murdered by evil Republicans. A lot more.
13 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
padiva 3/3/2022 10:12:30 AM (No. 1088518)
Was there a big barbeque afterwards for the poor at a local food pantry?
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Italiano 3/3/2022 10:18:21 AM (No. 1088527)
I'm not impressed unless they can shoot back.
5 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Hazymac 3/3/2022 10:25:25 AM (No. 1088539)
So? The WaPo acts as if the governor did something wrong. He didn't. As others have said, mountain lions are a threat to livestock and to people. "Harvesting" a predatory animal in this case might mean sending it to the taxidermist. In Alaska, the back country, off the grid folks will use every part of the animals they take.
In 1993 while playing the Tom Fazio designed Pelican Hill GC in Newport Beach, CA we had to hit over several fairly deep canyons, spanned by bridges. On every bridge was a warning not to go looking for wayward Titleists in the canyons, nor to go ball hawking in same. The reason was mountain lions. Hey, we've got some of them here in the Gunshine State, down in the Everglades NP and Big Cypress Preserve, its territory expanding. They'll eat you, you know. :)
11 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
DVC 3/3/2022 10:34:09 AM (No. 1088551)
ComPost anti-Republican propaganda, as usual.
It was NOT a "Yellowstone National Park mountain lion" in any legitimate sense. Apparently it spent some time in the park, some time outside the park. It was outside the park, on public land where hunting is allowed when it was legally hunted and killed.
Facts are actually important. Mountain lions are predators high up the food chain, and need their populations to be kept under control. Outside the park - they are not protected.
17 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
cor-vet 3/3/2022 10:35:42 AM (No. 1088554)
This will garner more attention from our intrepid media than a White kid shot in Pennsylvania. Mainly because a Republican governor was the shooter here and the kid in Penn. was White!
11 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Hazymac 3/3/2022 10:53:29 AM (No. 1088582)
Also, there are abundant nuisance animals around the country that need to be--to the extent possible--eradicated, not just hunted or harvested. In most states no hunting license is required to shoot them. Examples: nasty feral hogs (now numbering over 10 million and spreading widely over the Lower 48), coyotes, beavers (yes, beavers do great damage by damming up creeks and flooding farm or ranch land), prairie dogs aka sod puppies, which dig holes that injure cattle, and carry bubonic plague....
There are other animals that cause trouble and which are shot for various reasons. If you've seen what feral hogs can to not just to crops, but to land in general, rooting it up in two foot deep holes for acres on end, you can understand why land owners are hiring professional hunters to kill every last feral hog they can find. Unfortunately, the hogs are prolific breeders, and the hunters can't keep up, and more land gets wasted. But shooting feral hogs, whether by pistol, rifle, or bow and arrow is a great deal of fun. Prairie dogs by .22/250 (or whatever) is a gas, too. As Ahnuld kept saying in True Lies, "Sorry."
8 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 3/3/2022 10:54:08 AM (No. 1088583)
Coward! Point and shoot? Tough guy? Not
5 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
coldborezero 3/3/2022 11:02:08 AM (No. 1088597)
I live in central Texas. We had a mountain lion in the area a few years back. It was killing, cattle, sheep, horses, llamas and other livestock. Early one morning I went out to feed the horses and I saw it down by the creek that runs through our property. Beautiful, magnificent animal. I shot and killed it. I called the Game Warden and he came out and took it. I don’t need justification from anyone who has never stepped foot off of concrete and has only seen big cats at a Broadway production of “The Lion King”. Stay in the city, ladies.
31 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
justjoe1237 3/3/2022 11:44:20 AM (No. 1088630)
Killing an animal as a "trophy" is repulsive and cowardly. Your hounds faced all the risk and you shot it out of a tree. Wow, what a man!
Killing a dangerous animal, like a mountain lion or a bear, because it has attacked and killed a hiker, say, or someone's livestock, is altogether another matter. Must be done. And hunters who eat what they kill have my utmost respect. But shoot a beautiful wild animal out of a tree to prove to the world that you are not the coward you know you are? Disgusting.
4 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
clayusmcret 3/3/2022 11:53:03 AM (No. 1088643)
"according to residents familiar with the episode who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships in the community."
Their identities will be revealed and they'll get the relationship they deserve.
2 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
Venturer 3/3/2022 12:02:10 PM (No. 1088651)
Around my home the deer are a problem.
When I see the buzzards picking at a deer carcass, I am happy the buzzards are getting dinner and sorry that someone has to pay to repair their damaged car.
1 person likes this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
DVC 3/3/2022 12:31:37 PM (No. 1088686)
I'm amazed at the antihunting folks sometimes. I have never hunted predators, tend think of it as "professional courtesy" being a predator myself. But, I don't object to predator hunting. And any predator that starts killing livestock, pets or endangering children - time to go.
The one predator that I will shoot on sight is coyotes. We have a cat, and they will kill cats in a heartbeat. My brother-in-law's wife was screaming and throwing handy (inconsequential) items and kicking at a coyote in southern Florida as it ran up and killed her cat not ten steps from her back door or a few feet from her, and they live in a housing development. When our cat is out in our rural property, which is rarely, I'm in the yard with a gun, watching. No time to go and get one.
These are meat eaters and they wake up every day and think "What will I kill today?" That's fine, up to a point, depending on what they select to eat, but on my property - coyotes will get shot on sight. I hear them around frequently howling, have seen them a few times....didn't have a rifle handy enough in either case, and they were moving through at a fast trot.
Legal hunting is legal. No closed season or bag limits on coyotes in Kansas. Mountain lions have seasons and bag limits in the states where they are common. The official line is that there are no mountain lions in Kansas. My wife and I have seen one, and farmer friends have seen them and tracks a number of times. May not be many, but there are definitely a few here.
7 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
Faithfully 3/3/2022 4:43:43 PM (No. 1088958)
Reminds me of "Where the Red Fern Grow". Must reread that jewel.
0 people like this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
TulsaTowner 3/3/2022 5:14:34 PM (No. 1088997)
A terrific book by Zane Grey, non-fiction about an expedition he took with a game expert to the north rim of the Grand Canyon around 1900 to hunt mountain lions with dogs, but capture them live (with lassos!) to move them for preservation. Incredible story! Title is "The Last of the Plainsmen". A must read that will transport you to the American West!
1 person likes this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Beardo"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)