Outdoor News Daily

Charges have been filed today by the Jackson County attorney’s office against a Jackson County man in southwestern Minnesota for allegedly shooting a cougar on Nov. 27, 2011, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Daniel Hamman, 26, was charged by citation with shooting a protected animal.

Hamman allegedly shot the cougar after being contacted by a neighbor, who saw the cat run from a rural grove of trees into a culvert. The cougar was shot as it flushed from the culvert.

Maximum penalties Hamman could face include a fine up to $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail.

The DNR has filed an affidavit of restitution requesting the court to order Hamman to pay $1,000 to the state for the cougar. Criminal charges are not evidence of guilt. A defendant/suspect is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has examined and released a male mountain lion trapped by a private citizen in Reynolds County.

Reynolds County Commissioner Wayne Henson called Conservation Agent Eric Long this morning and reported catching the 122-pound mountain lion on Wednesday. Henson said the cat entered a large, cage-type live trap that he set on Mark Twain National Forest land to catch bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and other mammals.

Henson brought the mountain lion, still alive and in the cage trap, to Centerville this morning. Agent Long and MDC Resource Scientist Jeff Beringer took possession of the animal and transported it to Current River Conservation Area, where Beringer could examine the animal without disturbance. After weighing and measuring the cat and collecting DNA, Beringer released it to the wild, in keeping with MDC’s established policy for such cases.
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A mountain lion unintentionally caught in a bobcat trap in Dawes County was euthanized by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission on Dec. 26.

The responding conservation officer determined the mountain lion was pulling out the stakes that anchor the trap and would not survive if it escaped with the trap and stakes attached.

The trap had been legally set and the trapper called Game and Parks immediately upon discovering the mountain lion, as required by Game and Parks policy.

The mountain lion was an adult female weighing approximately 120 pounds. Tracks of two nearly adult-sized mountain lions were found in the area after the female was euthanized. The young mountain lions are likely the female’s offspring and were determined to be large enough to survive on their own, according to Sam Wilson, Game and Parks’ carnivore program manager. “This is an unfortunate situation,” he said. “We had hoped to be able to tranquilize and release any mountain lion that was accidentally trapped if it could be done safely and was not injured. With this animal in the process of pulling the stakes, a decision needed to be made immediately.”
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ODFW is closing cougar hunting through the end of this year in the Coast/North Cascades region, after reaching the zone’s quota of 120 cougars.

Since Jan. 1, 2011, 120 cougars have been killed by sporthunters or in response to damage or public safety concerns in Zone A (Coast/North Cascade). ODFW closes sport hunting if a zone’s quota is reached.

The closure only applies to sport hunting. Cougars may still be killed if they are threatening livestock, pets or human safety.

This is only the third year that cougar sport hunting has been closed in Oregon. Previous closures occurred in 2001, with one zone closed, and 2002, when two zones closed.
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