Landowner Kills Mountain Lion Near Chadron

LINCOLN, Neb. – A mountain lion was shot and killed by a landowner approximately 5 miles southeast of Chadron in Dawes County on Sept. 17. An investigation by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has determined the landowner was justified in killing the animal in order to protect herself and her livestock.

The landowner had taken a photograph of a mountain lion in her yard six days earlier and had contacted the Game and Parks. On Friday, she was helping free a goat that had become stuck in her fence when she noticed a mountain lion watching her and the goat from the grass at the edge of the pen. She shot and killed the cat at that time using a rifle she had been carrying while doing chores after the first sighting. She then contacted the Game and Parks to report the shooting, as required by law.

The mountain lion was an 82-pound female that appeared to be in good condition. The carcass was transported to the Game and Parks district office in Alliance and will be sent to agency headquarters in Lincoln for further review.

Mountain lions are protected in Nebraska as a game animal unless they are in the act of stalking, killing or consuming livestock, or are determined to be a threat to human safety.