Juvenile mountain lion euthanized after killing domestic goat near Bellevue

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Fish and Game officers from the Magic Valley Region were contacted on Monday after a domestic goat was found killed and cached by a mountain lion near a residence south of Bellevue. The owners raise livestock on their property, and the goat was found cached in one of their outbuildings.

Following the report, Fish and Game officials deployed a trap for the lion because it had preyed on livestock near a residential area.

The area where the attack occurred has had several mountain lion sightings and at least one encounter with a resident over the last several months. On Monday evening, a mountain lion trap was deployed where the goat was found.

Early Tuesday morning, a juvenile male mountain lion, estimated to be 18 months old and independent of a female lion, was trapped and euthanized by Fish and Game officers.

“We’ve been learning from other states and Canadian provinces that juvenile or subadult mountain lions are more commonly involved in human-wildlife conflicts,” according to Regional Wildlife Manager Mike McDonald. “Based on anecdotal information we’ve gained from the number of reports and sightings throughout the Wood River Valley, we suspect we have a healthy population of juvenile lions throughout the area.”

Since Jan. 1, the Magic Valley Region has recorded nearly 60 reports of lions, primarily in Hailey and Bellevue.

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