Mountain lions killed on Wild Horse Island to protect bighorn sheep

Three mountain lions were recently killed on Wild Horse Island on the south side of Flathead Lake in an effort to protect Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep there with nowhere to escape.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes collaborated on the lethal removals, according to a release issued late Friday.

The adult lions had been reported by landowners and visitors to the state park, and were habituated to humans, according to the release by FWP.

The island spans nearly 2,200 acres at the south end of the lake, just off lakeside U.S. Highway 93 near Elmo, Dayton and Rollins.

Dillon Tabish, FWP’s regional communication and education program manager, said Friday that the big cats either swam to the island or more likely trekked across the ice some winter to the island.

“You know, cats don’t love water, so we’re wondering if maybe they walked over one of these recent winters when it froze over there in the bay,” Tabish said.

“Sometimes that can freeze, momentarily,” he added. “We’ve also heard reports that a lion could kind of hopscotch around out there.”

The lion kills occurred during January and February.

Using a team of dogs, Tabish said, the department recently scanned the island for additional lions threatening the island’s nationally prized, disease-free sheep herd, but found none.

“We did not identify any new tracks, and the dogs didn’t pick up any scents,” he said. “That’s why we’re confident that there’s no more lions out there right now.”

Aside from threatening island sheep, the lions presented a public safety threat. Bears and lions have been documented on the island, “but the density and habituated behavior of these three lions warranted removal,” the release said.

The kills did not come easy, particularly for the tribes.

“Mountain lion and other cats, like the bobcat, hold significant cultural importance to Tribal members, and are not hunted within the Flathead Indian Reservation,” Kari Eneas, CSKT wildlife manager, said in the release.

“Our mountain lion populations are healthy and, in this unique situation, we considered the habituated behavior and density of animals of all wildlife species on the island in our cooperative decision with FWP,” he said.

FWP maintains a long-standing policy against relocating lions, as relocations are largely unsuccessful because the cats — whose populations remain robust in Montana — often return or create territorial conflicts with others, according to the Friday release.

CSKT kept the hides and skulls from the three cats for educational use, the release said. Wild Horse Island is located within the Flathead Reservation.

Since 1939, just 10 sheep have been transplanted to the island. Since 1954, more than 560 sheep have been removed to help establish or augment other Montana herds, including exports to Washington and Oregon, according to Montana State Parks.

Reporter John McLaughlin can be reached at 758-4439 or jmclaughlin@dailyinterlake.com.