Wyoming mountain lion

Ranchers Kill Mountain Lion Actively Stalking Their Cattle

This father-son ranching duo shot a 130-pound mountain lion on their Wyoming ranch mid-stalk, saving their cattle in the process.

Jeb and Lalonda Baker took the predator down with two shots. The lion was of average male size, but held an appetite far larger. He was actively stalking the Baker Ranch’s cattle.

As local Casper Star Tribune reports, the Baker duo were enjoying coffee and a view on their ranch in Slater, WY, when their dog wouldn’t stop agitating the cattle. Before long, his behavior had grown so erratic that the father and son knew something was wrong. And wrong it was.

The 130-pound predator was actively prowling, stalking, and prepping to hunt their livestock. “It’s a lion,” Jeb recalls saying as he surveyed their land with binoculars. It was off to the gun cabinet for both men immediately after.

Two shots later, the mountain lion was dead. This is no light task, either. Killing a cougar outright and without justification can illicit severe penalties. The Bakers know this, so their first call after downing the cat was to their game warden, Jesse Niemerr of the Wheatland office of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Niemerr investigated the incident alongside colleagues, and WGFD Public Information Officer Briana Ball confirmed for Casper Star Tribune that the Baker’s had a “justified kill in the defense of property.”

Living with Mountain Lions

In Wyoming, cougars are typically spotted west of the I-25 corridor. But according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, this one came in east of the local highway. Regardless, the state holds a population healthy enough to sustain their winter mountain lion season (typically September 1st – March 31st) for the past several decades.

These big cats are notoriously elusive, however. Seeing one on your ranch is, well, “It’s sure not something you see every day,” Jeb Baker tells the trade.

Cougars are a more common sight in the Glendo and Hartville areas of the state. But they can wander for hundreds of miles in search of food, territory, and mates. The majority of Wyoming is mountain lion habitat, though, so a great number of lions choose to reproduce, bed, and hunt in remote areas.

Despite the population sticking around, there is growing concern that wanton mountain lion hunting could soon extirpate the species from the state. The species’ numbers in Wyoming are thought to have decreased by 50% over the last decade, the Mountain Lion Foundation cites. This may change hunting regulations in the near future.

Watch For Cougar Activity

If you live in mountain lion country, like Wyoming or Colorado, staying educated, aware, and vigilant is paramount.

In Colorado, CPW’s Gunnison Area Wildlife Manager Brandon Diamond emphasizes this for residents with pets or livestock. In the state, mountain lions regularly move through surrounding communities. This means everything from sprawling rural neighborhoods to urban backyards are their territory, too.

“Mountain lions are hunting in backyards for game more than most residents realize,” Diamond stresses.

If you’re unsure if a kill could be related to a cougar, Diamond says “if it appears covered up by snow, leaves or grass” there’s a good chance it’s a big cat’s kill. “Those are all indications of a lion kill that it has cached.”

For more on the species, see Outsider’s previous mountain lion coverage here.