Mountain lion advice
 

Hello,

Recently it seems there has been a mountain lion hanging around my mom’s place near waterton shell plant in WMU 302. I caught it on my camera less then 30 yards from the house. She has dogs that stay outside all day while she’s gone which she worries about. I would like to shoot it but don’t really know of any good strategy other then walking around hoping to see it which is highly unlikely. It’s going to be spring soon and I won’t even be able to see tracks in the snow. Is there anyway they can be baited or something like that?
Thanks.

The quota is already closed in that zone this year so the option of have someone put hounds on it is out. You can’t legally bait a cougar. The owner/occupant of private land can kill a cougar without license at any time, provided you have an area that you can safely/legally shoot. You are still required to register a cat killed that way. The regular season does allow for the use of non electronic calls to hunt a cougar but I’m not sure how that would apply to hunting one under the livestock predation clause, use of dogs is specifically prohibited but there is no mention of calls.

Lions will come to a predator call. Put a deer decoy out in the open and get yourself hidden. Just remember the cat will initially come to the call so watch your back. You hope that it will see the decoy and expose itself.

Your Mom's dogs are definitely at risk.

Predator management is different than hunting. I’m sure it can still be chased by a hounds man and his dogs if it is becoming a dangerous nuisance. F&W probably have some houndsmen phone numbers on speed dial.

That would be on F&W to determine and they’d be the ones removing it. I’m sure. The cat just being present in the area isn’t going to prompt them to come remove it though, we have lions that live on the edge of citys that don’t get any attention.

If you're a land owner, the cat is fair game. The bad news is, they have a large territory and the chances of catching up with it aren't great.

Yes you can kill it as a landowner, I stated that in my first response. You cannot use dogs to hunt it under that authority though.

S-s-s.