Pet spoiler care to expand a little on the legality of hunting mountain lions?
Basically, they are protected. No hunting tags issued, in general.
F&G tracks them with collars. If you catch one in the very act of eating or attacking your livestock you could shoot it right then. but it has to be right in the act. F&G will come out and examine the scene to verify it.
You can get a permit to kill one that is going at your animals IF they authenticate your claim.
However, F&G limits the permit to a period of 10 days from the day it is issued.
Limit on the distance you can track it from the original scene is 10 miles.
You can't kill it by a water source where it drinks.
The only way you'll succeed, is to hire professional trackers with good lion dogs.
If there is a highway anywhere in the area, the trackers won't risk their dogs getting on the scent, bcuz they can't stop them from crossing roads & being killed.
A pastured young horse was attacked, but not killed. No trackers would risk their dogs.
Everybody figured it was a mother cougar with 2 yearlings who she was "teaching" how to hunt. they kept returning after sunset. but in the bushes and all, they couldn't spot them for safe shots.
After dusk, if that particular horse sensed lions, she would throw herself against the fence in fear, trying to escape. It was horrible.
They gave her away to someone in an area with no cougars.
She was mentally ruined & probably never rideable. She was just old enough to start under saddle, when attacked.
They clawed her hind quarters and top of her back. Combined with tracks at scene, that's why F&G figured it was a mother lion taking grown cubs to practice.
Sheep are more commonly eaten on premises. Dogs, carried away.
One guy here saw a sheep down by a fence & walked over to see why (thick bushes). and when he got there, he was face to face with a crouching cougar. It had no fear. just laid there with it's meal, staring back at him like "I dare you....".
