Officials euthanize cat that was habituated to people

A Eureka woman who said she is a confirmed “cat lover” isn’t happy that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials euthanized a female mountain lion they caught in a cage trap on her property, even though she had alerted wildlife officials about the predator.

Laura Torgeson lives in a remote part of Lincoln County, about 6 miles east of Eureka.

“They didn’t need to do this,” Torgeson said. “It broke my heart. There has to be a better way. They didn’t even investigate to see if she had killed anything on my property.”

Torgeson has lived on the property since 2011. She and her husband Troy bought 10 acres in the Grace Lane area, not far from the Kootenai National Forest. Torgeson has lived there alone since Troy died of cancer in October 2017. She has nine cats, plus ducks, chickens and dogs, all of which are rescues, on her property.

One day, she said she heard something on her deck, thought it was one of her cats, but it turned out to be a mountain lion.

“Then a man came to my home to buy some fence and gates and he saw the tracks where it (the mountain lion) had jumped the fence and was on the deck,” Torgeson said. “I knew I had to do something, so I called Fish and Game.”

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesman Dillon Tabish said a trap was set on the property Jan. 14 and on Jan. 19, a lion was in the trap.

“We first received a report Jan. 11 of a mountain lion that had been reported on a person’s property and that chickens and dogs were missing,” Tabish said.

Tabish said there was enough evidence that the 70-pound female lion had become habituated to people.

“She didn’t have kittens and she wasn’t lactating,” Tabish said. “There were indications of her habituation to people. She was being seen in plain sight and during the day. There wasn’t definitive evidence that it had killed chickens, but it could have.”

Torgeson said she made a connection with the big cat after it was in the trap.

“It was really agitated, jumping around, so I called fish and game, and Sergeant Jon Obst told me to cover the cage with a tarp. It settled down. She had food, but no water. So a friend helped me put a collapsible bowl of water in the cage and some catnip inside the cage.”

Tabish said it was unfortunate the lion had to be euthanized, but once officials determined the lion had become habituated to people, the decision was made.

He added that it’s important for people who live in certain places that have fowl or animals to take precautions.

“We recommend electric fencing for people that keep livestock,” Tabish said.

Tabish said the case fell to Fish and Game because of the government shutdown, because of the fact that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would typically handle the case because chickens are considered livestock.

“We went through our steps in how we determine what decision to make and it had become a human safety issue,” Tabish said.

He said it wasn’t an unprecedented decision to euthanize a lion.

“We don’t move lions from problem areas because they don’t stay where we move them. They usually go back,” Tabish said.

Mountain lions aren’t rare in Western Montana, either.

Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials estimate there are about 1,500 lions in the region.

Despite the number of lions frequenting the region, in the area where Torgeson lives, lion hunters in Hunting District 109 are only allowed to harvest four males. As of Jan. 29, only three had been taken.

While lions may be plentiful in this part of the state, Torgeson wanted the cat to be moved to a rescue facility.

“There wasn’t any evidence it had killed any chickens or ducks,” Torgeson said. “I had some missing, but I just believed coyotes had taken them.”

But Tabish said it has become increasingly difficult to place animals, such as bears, with such facilities.

“There isn’t a long list of places that would take a mountain lion,” Tabish said. “It’s a real commitment to take a wild animal of that size. They require a lot of care.”

Torgeson said Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary was contacted about taking the lion, but it didn’t have room.

Then she talked to Jessica Whalen, who is with the Mountain Lion Foundation, based in California.

“She wanted me to tell my story, to share it with the media. She wants me to be an advocate for lions and I want to as well,” Torgeson said. “Not everyone has to call Fish and Game. There has to be a better way.”

Torgeson said the lion’s danger was overemphasized.

“I wasn’t threatened, my neighbors have no animals or kids and I’ve never lost any cats because I bring them in at night,” Torgeson said.

While she wasn’t happy about the ultimate outcome with the lion, Torgeson said she isn’t against hunting.

“I even bought a hunting license this year, but I didn’t go because I couldn’t find anyone to take me,” Torgeson said. “I’m not a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) person. I’m a meat eater.”

Torgeson believes there are other avenues to solve the problem.

“The animals can be hazed, they don’t have to die,” Torgeson said.

She said she is going to try and sell her property.

“The neighbors here have made it tough for me,” she said. “I had to fence my dogs in. I want to move closer to civilization.”

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com