77 overnight last weekend, the fourth confirmed lion found in the Valley in the past 15 years. A check for $40 to cover the non-refundable entry fee. Taken in Socorro County by Jim Hens in 2013. In need of Heroes, not to suppress the shooter, but Heroes to suppress the hurt. By the time I arrived in Crescent Junction, Utah, our designated meeting spot, it was 4 a.m. and the temperature registered 19 degrees below zero. Rod Bradley got to experience the thrill of the hunt twice with the same animal. Why are people who say, Look at the big beautiful animal compelled to shoot them?, To which I ask, Why will anyone, compelled to comment with great energy on matters deemed worthy, by their cavalier composition, diminish the very nobility of what they infer to be defending?. put, by consciously determining to delegate LESS ENERGY to writing, and to divide the subsequent EMOTIONAL SAVINGS in half, and finally, to apply 50% of the then more relaxed self to EDITING. Such thinking precludes a lot of good, blinding otherwise capable people who long for a purposeful life to the innumerable opportunities surrounding their desire to be fulfilled as a Difference Maker. In New Mexicos legal code, Puma concoloris generally referred to as cougar.. The chance of taking a larger one would be remote, I thought to myself. From the tracks, this cat is a real monster. Recently it has been increased to 13. Samuel J. Beatty with New Mexicos #1 whitetail deer typical, taken in Colfax County in 2019. After the required 60-day drying period, Hatfield officially measured the skull at 15 14/16 inches. More than 12,400 mountain lions were killed between 1907 and 1963 and turned in for bounties, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation. They are the most wide-ranging cat species in the world and are found as far north as Canada and as far south as Chile. Looking at the enormous head, I discovered the cat was very old. 6. My heart was pounding. All rights reserved. However, it now fit my hand perfectly, and I quickly developed confidence in the new bow. Hunter. Considering Wolfe is listed at 6-foot-5, this mountain lion could easily have been over seven feet long. As a result, New Mexico appears to have lost 39,448 square miles of mountain lion habitat, while gaining an additional 1,930 adult mountain lions. The Hero reasons that No, not all is OK. "It was a young, we call it a juvenile male, which . About 90 percent of the total deaths since 1971 were a result of recreational hunting. A Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson told TMZ that Wolfe followed proper protocols in killing the beast legally. Adult females usually measure up to seven feet in length and average 90110 pounds. 1996, To conserve, regulate, propagate and protect the wildlife and fish within the state of New Mexico using a flexible management system that ensures sustainable use for public food supply, recreation and safety; and to provide for off-highway motor vehicle recreation (Read more), Phone: (505) 476-8000 | Toll-free (888) 248-6866, Copyright 2016 New Mexico Department of Game & Fish | All Rights Reserved, (505) 476-8000 | Toll-free (888) 248-6866. At close range, he looked three times bigger than he had in the tree. The first program, passed by the NMDGF Commission in 1985, was in response to an increasing number of livestock reported killed by mountain lions in GMU-30. P-104, a subadult male mountain lion, was killed by a car on PCH today. In fact, what precipitated Daniels trip to the office that day was his CHOICE to come to the defense of another boy who was being teased by some other students that had taken his coat from him. A Colorado Parks and Wildlife study indicated the foothills of Boulder and Jefferson counties contain some of the highest concentrations of mountain lions reported in the U.S. Mountain lions have been spotted in Fort Collins periodically. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF), regulations governing recreational hunting of mountain lions, https://wildlifeactionplan.nmdotprojects.org/, NMDA Littauer White 1984 Cougar Predation on Livestock in New Mexico in 1983 and the First Half of 1984, NMDGF 1984 STATUS REPORT 2nd Mountain Lion Workshop, NMDGF 1988 STATUS REPORT 3rd Mountain Lion Workshop, NMDGF 1997 Long Range Plan for the Management of Cougar in New Mexico, NMDGF 2000 Status of The Mountain Lion in New Mexico 1971-2000, NMDGF 2002 FEA Mountain Lion Management to Protect the State Endangered Desert Bighorn Sheep, NMDGF 2004 DRAFT Long Range Plan for the Management of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in New Mexico, NMDGF 2004 Living With Large Predators in New Mexico, NMDGF 2004 Long Range Plan for the Management of Cougar in New Mexico 1997-2004, NMDGF 2004 Synopsis of a 5 Year Mountain Lion Control Management Action on Endangered Desert Bighorn Sheep Recovery New Mexico 1999-2004, NMDGF 2007 Culling Mountain Lions to Protect Ungulate Populations Some Lives Are More Sacred Than Others, NMDGF 2007 Evaluation of an 8 Year Mountain Lion Removal Management Action on Endangered Desert Bighorn Sheep Recovery New Mexico 1999-2007, NMDGF 2007 Meetings Scheduled Statewide to Discuss Bear Cougar Management, NMDGF 2008 Science and Hard Work A Story About Saving Desert Bighorn Sheep in New Mexico, NMDGF 2009 Fra Christobal Mountains Evaluation of an 8 Year Mountain Lion Removal Management Action on Endangered Desert Bighorn Sheep Recovery New Mexico, NMDGF 2010 Cougar Population and Management Matrix for Hunting Seasons 2011-2015, NMDGF 2010 Cougar Zones and Habitat Model for 2011-2012, NMDGF 2012 Annual Cougar Mortality Statistics 2001-2012, NMDGF 2012 Proposed Changes to Cougar and Bear Hunting, NMDGF 2015 Annual Cougar Mortality Statistics 2001-2015, NMDGF 2015 Bear and Cougar Rule Changes for Consideration, Los Alamos County 2014 Chapter 6 Animals Trapping Ban, APNM 1998 APNM Sues New Mexico Game Commission for Cougar Killing Plans, APNM 1999 Department Promotes Flawed Cougar Killing Policy in Attempt to Protect Desert Bighorn Sheep, APNM 2001 Historical Involvement in Cougar Protection, APNM 2003 Vanishing Wildlife in New Mexico A Legacy of Neglect, Defenders of Wildlife 1998 Defenders Files Complaint Against Federal Mountain Lion Slaugher in New Mexico, Knight 1994 Mountain Lions Damage Prevention and Control Methods, The Southwest Biodiversity Initiative 1999 Cougar Bighorn Interactions and Sustainable Ecosystem Management in New Mexico. The best insights from the ultimate insiders, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Wallace moved out ahead as the chase warmed up, announcing, Im going to turn o Ranger loose. The species is classified as a game mammal, along with javelina, American bison, wild goats, wild bighorn sheep, Barbary sheep, kudu, Oryx, American pronghorn, elk, deer, pikas, squirrels, red squirrels, marmots, and bears. Wolfe, who played eight seasons for the Broncos before one year with the Ravens in an NFL career that wrapped up in 2020, wrote on Instagram that he was enlisted to hunt the beast after it was. Habitat connectivity is crucial for the long-term persistence of New Mexicos mountain lions. But the weather worked in the groups favor, piling fresh snow each day, which made it easier to spot fresh cat tracks. Within another three quarters of a mile, we found our first lion-killed sheep, but the tracks were not fresh. Since the dogs were chained off, I was the nearest to the cat. The last reported human killing by a lion in New Mexico was in 1974 when an 8-year-old Arroyo Seco boy was killed by a 47-pound female mountain lion. 206 4/8: Rio Arriba County. This particular target has a 3-inch bulls-eye and is shot from 20 yards. The houndsall of the Plott strainhad been let out of their boxes, and most of them seemed anxious to get on with the hunt. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. About the same time both the Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young Clubs declared that only lions coming from states that no longer paid the bounty fee were eligible to be entered in their biannual competitions and permanent records. Texas woman . Since the kill was fresh, we all felt that our chances had just improved considerably. As he said, he wanted to see this dude try to take a cougar with a bow and arrow. New Mexico sets sex-specific quotas and prohibits the killing of kittens and any female accompanied kittens. A maximum of 14 mountain lions can be lethally removed from GMU-30 in any given year as part of this program. 53 Ranger was having trouble untangling the maze of tracks around the sheep, so Bill took the dogs collar and led him in a wide circle away from the kill. They released the hounds and the pack rocketed uphill. Cougars are easily distinguished from bobcats (except when kittens). Former Denver Broncos player and current Denver sports talk radio co-host Derek Wolfe not only legally killed a large mountain lion in Colorado, he did it in an unusual way with a bow. 1986. . Officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department will be studying a mountain lion (cougar) road killed by a high school student north of Mineral Wells. Wolfe, an avid hunter, wrote about the hunt on his Instagram account, saying they tracked the lion in the snow after he received a call from an outfitter late Tuesday night to see if he wanted to stalk a lion "who has been wreaking havoc in a rural neighborhood.''. Rocky Mountain Mule Deer - Typical. With the price off its head, the lion gained new stature, and in July 1965, the state declared it to be a big-game animal, subject to regular seasons, limits, and licenses. We asked for safety advice from expert who captured 300 mountain lions. Any guess how big this thing was?. See more about the Big Game Records Program. Concerning the second of my two children, Joel, I am honored to share the following anecdote. The popular puma gained fame as P-22 and cast a spotlight on the troubled population of California's endangered . In 1986, The Commission ordered NMDGF to preemptively kill mountain lions found on ranches that had more than 6 verified lion depredation occurrences in any 3-year period. Much to my pleasant surprise, she exclaimed Of course I know Joel! A Hunter, Guide and Hunt information form completed and signed by the hunter. The wildlife agency confirmed Wolfe was properly licensed to kill the lion and followed the mandatory reporting process. An original score chart signed and dated by an official B&C measurer. The cougar, known as P-56, was fatally shot on Jan. 27 after a property owner who had lost a dozen animals received a depredation permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service said in a press release Monday. Here's what he said. On Jan. 19, a mountain lion killed a dog as it returned from a walk with its owner. He helped us load the dogs, and we all climbed into the truck. Please consider using the form below to submit a comment calling for higher prioritization of the Sandia-Jemez Mountains Bernalillo Corridor, a corridor that is critical for New Mexicos mountain lions. The female mountain lion was wearing a radio collar, and . A mountain lion recently struck and killed by a vehicle on the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar has added to the growing roadside carnage of wild pumas squeezed by shrinking territory in Southern. In 1999 the Commission authorized NMDGF to preemptively kill up to 34 mountain lions each year from the following five mountain ranges: Peloncillo, Ladron, Hatchets, San Andres, and Fra Cristobal. However, it had first clipped a small twig and then ricocheted, striking the cat too far back to be a good shot. 2019: New Mexico State Game Commission voted to end cougar trapping in certain parts of the state.