Special reservation lion hunt opened
High number of sightings on Fort BertholdBy KIM FUNDINGSLAND, Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
POSTED: May 14, 2008
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“It’s open May 13 to July 13 to whoever has a tribal furbearer license for one section of the reservation,” said Poitra. “The area is from Shell Creek west to the reservation line and from Skunk Bay Recreation Area west to the reservation line. That’s what will be open.”
Shell Creek empties into the northern end of the Van Hook Arm of Lake Sakakawea. Skunk Bay is several miles east of Mandaree. Growing concern over both the frequency of lion sightings and their close proximity to people led to the decision to hold a special season.
“We actually had one following two persons along the shoreline below Crow Flies High Butte. Those tracks were confirmed,” said Poitra. “About a half-mile north of New Town this past Saturday night, a horse was mauled.”
According to Poitra, the horse had a large gouge in the neck and claw marks on the front legs. Members of the tribes’ Natural Resources Council concurred that the marks were likely the result of a lion attack. The photographs were sent to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department for further confirmation. In turn, they sent the photographs to experts in other states before issuing an opinion as to whether or not a mountain lion attack actually occurred.
“The wounds are pretty nasty with some fairly good, deep raking cuts. The kind that is consistent with what you would see in a mountain lion attack,” said Greg Link, assistant wildlife division chief, North Dakota Game & Fish. “There’s tooth punctures around the neck and shoulders. The guys in other states came to pretty much the same conclusion that it sure looks like a lion attack.”
Link called the wounds part of a puzzle, adding that a follow-up study of the site might reveal other clues such as mountain lion footprints or hair.
“The horse suffered multiple scratches in a parallel fashion,” said Link. “That is the kind of thing that tells you it’s from a lion unless there’s something else there that tells you it wasn’t.”
Mountain lions are known to roam several miles within their home area or range hundreds of miles in search of new territory. Poitra is convinced the most recent incident involves a resident lion and that it may not be the only one prowling near New Town.
“I believe there’s two different animals in the area now,” said Poitra.
Poitra based his opinion partly on surveillance video from Four Bears Casino that appears to show the presence of a mountain lion. About a month ago Poitra and Williston dog handler Andy Anderson got on the track of a mountain lion near Crow Flies High. The action of the dogs showed there was a cat in the area but, due to dry conditions and strong winds, they were unable to pinpoint the cat.
In April 2007, a lion was found frozen in the ice of Lake Sakakawea not far from where the Saturday night attack occurred. A recent report compiled by Game &Fish furbearer biologist Dorothy Fecske called the Missouri River Breaks region along Lake Sakakawea from south of Williston through the Fort Berthold Reservation suitable habitat for a small number of mountain lions.
In March 2007, the Agriculture Department’s Wildlife Service office in Bismarck said a cow found dead in a pasture near Tioga was likely killed by a mountain lion. Lion tracks were also found in the area but an aerial search failed to spot a lion. In May 2007, a 112-pound male mountain lion was shot and killed on a farm near Fortuna in Divide County after confronting some dogs in the farmyard.
