View My Ads 
|
Lion shot after menacing donkeys
Jason Ferguson
Published: Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 |
||
By Jason Ferguson
And Amos thought helping tourists cross Mount Rushmore Road was dangerous.
That danger was nothing compared to the danger the donkey that belongs to Ron and Tonya Flora experienced last Saturday,â��March 13, when a mountain lion chased him and a baby donkey around the Floras’ property.
Ron Flora said it was around 10:30 p.m. when nearby resident Todd Albertson came to his place and told him there was a mountain lion chasing his donkeys inside the fence that kept them in on the seven and a half acres of property at the Flora place just north of town in Bavarian Hills Estates.
Flora grabbed his rifle and a spotlight and went outside to look. He was joined by another neighbor, who looked down the hill with his flashlight. There, sitting next to the barn, was the mountain lion.
“Iâ��didn’t know whether Iâ��should shoot it or not,”â��Flora said.â��“Iâ��was thinking, ‘Should I, or shouldn’t I?’”
Because the lion wasn’t chasing the donkeys at the time, he decided to call the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to ask what he should do. He had one hand on the phone, the other on his rifle, asking if he was allowed to kill the cat before it attacked his animals. The sheriff’s department referred the call to Game, Fish and Parks (GF&P).
A GF&P conservation officer arrived what Flora guesses was between 30 and 45 minutes later. The entire time of the wait the cat sat by the barn, eyeing the donkeys, unafraid of the humans who were only 40 yards away.
“He sat in one spot for 45 minutes. I couldn’t believe it,”â��Flora said.â��“He had his mind set. He wasn’t scared of anything.”
Once the conservation officer arrived, he determined the lion had to be dispatched because of its aggressive behavior toward the donkeys. Two shots to the neck killed the lion, a massive 148-pound male with paws as big as a human man’s hand.
Flora said he knows of more lions in the area, and said this was the third time he has seen one in the area. He said virtually everyone in the neighborhood has found lion kills in their yard.
Despite that, Flora said having lions in the area really doesn’t bother him, except for the donkeys’ sake. The donkeys don’t want to go near the barn anymore, and he wants them to be able to run around the property without being attacked.
“I don’t really want to have to lock them up,”â��he said.
And Amos thought helping tourists cross Mount Rushmore Road was dangerous. That danger was nothing compared to the danger the donkey that belongs to Ron and Tonya Flora experienced last Saturday,â��March 13, when a mountain lion chased him and a baby donkey around the Floras’ property. Ron Flora said it was around 10:30 p.m. when nearby resident Todd Albertson came to his place and told him there was a mountain lion chasing his donkeys inside the fence that kept them in on the seven and a half acres of property at the Flora place just north of town in Bavarian Hills Estates. Flora grabbed his rifle and a spotlight and went outside to look. He was joined by another neighbor, who looked down the hill with his flashlight. There, sitting next to the barn, was the mountain lion. “Iâ��didn’t know whether Iâ��should shoot it or not,”â��Flora said.â��“Iâ��was thinking, ‘Should I, or shouldn’t I?’” Because the lion wasn’t chasing the donkeys at the time, he decided to call the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to ask what he should do. He had one hand on the phone, the other on his rifle, asking if he was allowed to kill the cat before it attacked his animals. The sheriff’s department referred the call to Game, Fish and Parks (GF&P). A GF&P conservation officer arrived what Flora guesses was between 30 and 45 minutes later. The entire time of the wait the cat sat by the barn, eyeing the donkeys, unafraid of the humans who were only 40 yards away. “He sat in one spot for 45 minutes. I couldn’t believe it,”â��Flora said.â��“He had his mind set. He wasn’t scared of anything.” Once the conservation officer arrived, he determined the lion had to be dispatched because of its aggressive behavior toward the donkeys. Two shots to the neck killed the lion, a massive 148-pound male with paws as big as a human man’s hand. Flora said he knows of more lions in the area, and said this was the third time he has seen one in the area. He said virtually everyone in the neighborhood has found lion kills in their yard. Despite that, Flora said having lions in the area really doesn’t bother him, except for the donkeys’ sake. The donkeys don’t want to go near the barn anymore, and he wants them to be able to run around the property without being attacked. “I don’t really want to have to lock them up,”â��he said.
Click Here To See More Stories Like This |
Current Comments
2 comments so far (post your own)March 25th, 2010 at 10:39am
On March 12th I ran north on the trail in the early morning. As I ran passed the track area, I spotted a very large paw print in the snow. After the time change on March 14th, I felt it was too dark to venture north on the trail with such a large cat in the area. A 148 lb Mountain lion could easily take down a human and since I am not a vision of power at this point in my training, I look like I'm on my last breath, I may appear to be an easy target to such a large cat.
February 13th, 2011 at 14:22pm
Hummm...interesting. When has a human been attacked by a mountain lion here in the Black Hills? Did I miss something? Just how many attacks have happened over the last century? Unless of course you have them cornered and they need to protect themselves. Really they don't want anything to do with humans.