Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - First mountain lion of season killed

First mountain lion of season killed

Sep 20, 2008 - 04:06:11 CDT

By BRIAN GEHRING
Bismarck Tribune

The first mountain lion of the 2008 season has been shot near Grassy Butte.

Rick Mittleider of Tappen and his party of two other hunters took the cat Wednesday morning near Grassy Butte.

Mittleider said he and two others, Louie Hafele and Donny Kramlich, were using a predator call in a rugged and remote area of the Breaks when the mountain lion responded to the call about 7 o'clock in the morning.

"It was our second stand of the day," Mittleider said,"and we had used three or four calls ... so I'm not really sure which one she responded to."

He said the lion was a 107-pound female, which he plans to have prepared in a full-body mount by his son-in-law, who owns Faul Taxidermy in Tappen.

Mittleider said he's an avid coyote hunter and has been hunting mountain lions since the state first opened a regular season.

It was his first hunt this season, he said.

He said to his knowledge, it's the first mountain lion taken by calling:"I realize calling mountain lions is like finding a needle in a haystack," he said.

"We were very fortunate ... the good Lord put us in the right place at the right time and I was lucky enough to be the one to pull the trigger."

He said he took the cat with a .224 Clark at about 200 yards.

The lion was taken in zone 1, which roughly covers the area of the Badlands south of Williston and encompasses McKenzie, Dunn, Billings, Golden Valley, Slope and Bowman counties.

Zone 2 includes the remainder of the state.

The quota for zone 1 is eight lions and will close immediately once it is reached.

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Comments

Mpls Mom wrote on Sep 27, 2008 7:45 PM:

" Well, Bismarck isn't alone when it comes to the officials minimizing an attack on a horse: http://wcco.com/local/cougar.mille.lacs.2.827257.html

For those of you not wishing to copy/paste, it is an article on a horse owner with a DEAD horse, after seeing a cougar by her property. MN DNR says "wounds aren't consistant with lion attacks......probably barbed wire...." Gee, its the same verbage the horse owners here in Bismarck got, isn't it? "

Lisa A. wrote on Sep 27, 2008 5:39 PM:

" Hey "JD" - yet one more ignorant statement...you gotta love the "if you don't agree with me you should move to another state" people that ND is famous for. Sorry, but I'm not going anywhere...ND born and raised out in the country. Once again, I never said there shouldn't be a season, just saying I don't care for it personally and I'll stand by my statement that the good Lord wasn't cheering on the hunter in this story. The good Lord may have made man a hunter and gatherer, but I don't think he had much to do with inventing guns and wild game calls. "

SE Forty wrote on Sep 23, 2008 3:16 PM:

" To jesse. I'M not saying your man is not a great man, I'm sure he is but the 'Good Lord" comment just seems a little bit on the Zealot side to me. "

JESSE wrote on Sep 23, 2008 12:06 PM:

" I really wish that all of you talking about rudely about this man would know who and what you are talking about! I know this guy personally for many years, he is a stand up guy that has hunted ethically for many many years. He is what many would call an expert caller and shot. I have hunted with him and i know this all for fact and there is no guessing involved with the statements i have made and wish you would all know the facts about a person before ramblimg on about someone on here and not even knowing what you are talking about! "

Rancher wrote on Sep 22, 2008 9:44 AM:

" To Beth:

Well said. Lost two prized replacement heifers and NDG&F would not even come out to look at them. They were denying that there were Mt. Lions in our Zone. Zone 2 of course. Three years ago,deer season saw the deer nervously looking back and then shoot off running, behind them all you could see was a long black tipped tail traveling at about 70 mph. Saw it plain as day the next day. Yep it was a Mt. Lion. "

SE Forty wrote on Sep 21, 2008 8:24 AM:

" To beth- I am NOT "City Folk" I am "country Folk" And I am A hunter and I do know EXACTLY where my beef comes from. All I beleive in is that "the good lord" does not really care or is cheering somebody on to kill a wild creature. Do you think the "good lord" is cheering someone on to kill a another person as well?? "

SSS wrote on Sep 21, 2008 8:01 AM:

" Way to go boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be watchin myself, especially one with a collar on it. "

JD wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:49 PM:

" (To Baby T)...Show me the link that says I am ''far,far,'' more likely to be hit by another mtn lion hunter's bullet than being attacked by a mtn lion. I'm serious, if you post it I'll believe you. I have NEVER heard of someone hunting mtn lions in ND being shot by another person hunting mtn lions. Just the facts,not opinion... "

JD wrote on Sep 20, 2008 10:49 PM:

" (To Lisa A.).....The good lord intended mankind to be a hunter/gatherer. I don't think God was cheering on Mr. Mittleider, but God was just watching him do what he wired mankind to do, hunt/gather. Lisa, Do most of us in ND a favor and consider moving to a state that frowns on people's right to hunt. California,Massachusetts, connecticut,or Rhode Island come to mind. I'm sure I missed a few states that don't like our rights, but you get my drift. Thank you. "

Beth A Hafele wrote on Sep 20, 2008 8:49 PM:

" To Lisa & SE Forty:

I think you 2 need the education. My father is Louis Hafele, who helped Rick get the Mountain Lion. I grew up on my family's ranch and I can tell you both and anyone else who cares to leave messages about this story, that when a Mountain Lion is HUNGRY AND HAS TRAVELED MANY MILES & IT SEE BABY CALVES OR BABY SHEEP OR ANY OTHER KIND OF LIVE STOCK----IT WILL KILL IT AND TAKE IT DOWN IN NO TIME FLAT. It makes me upset that "city folks" don't understand that if you don't get to eat a Steak or your next Hamburger on the grill you will then UNDERSTAND THAT THE REASON YOU CAN'T IS BECAUSE A MOUNTAIN LION HAS HAD YOUR NEXT MEAL!!!!!

Laura I am happy to agree with you on your statement that you wrote at 5:13pm today. "

BabyT wrote on Sep 20, 2008 8:40 PM:

" To Laura, first of all, Lisa A didn't express opinions about whether or not the lion should be shot. She said that the good lord probably wasn't cheering him on, which would be true. He was essentially killing the animal for sport, not to feed his family. Certainly not in line with biblical values. And second, when is the last time someone in ND was injured by a lion. How about NEVER! You are FAR, FAR more likely to be hit by another hunter that is hunting a mountain lion then the mountain lion itself. Just the facts, not opinion... "

SE Forty wrote on Sep 20, 2008 6:01 PM:

" To laura- You need to get out more. "

Laura wrote on Sep 20, 2008 5:13 PM:

" TO LISA: Until you have ever had cats on your property, killing & maiming your animals, and scaring the heck out of your kids to even go out at night...please keep your opinions to yourself. It's so easy for a "town-folk" to degrade the whole mountain lion thing.

Yes....it is a creature. So was Ted Bundy....the UniBomber....Charles Manson.... Jeffrey Dohmer.... They were all created by God. So do you think they should be spared, only because "the good Lord made them"?? "

yodel dawg wrote on Sep 20, 2008 3:44 PM:

" Back in the 80's I was bitten by a fox that answered my call, came in very fast from the side, bit my wrist that held the call and ran into cover. A mountain lion may do the same, only I'm sure they will bite the back of your neck.

Just keep that in mind when you hunker down in the bushes as dawn. "

le wrote on Sep 20, 2008 11:41 AM:

" Last New Years day a guy was calling coyotes over here at Cogswell, ND and a mountain lion responded. That was in what is now Zone 2. So that lion was in the count last year and not the first to succumb to a hunter's predator call. "

SE Forty wrote on Sep 20, 2008 7:25 AM:

" Do you really beleive "The good lord" wanted the mountain lion dead?? Hmmm Chalk up another one for " The good lord". "

Lisa A. wrote on Sep 20, 2008 7:23 AM:

" Somehow I don't think the good Lord was rooting for you to shoot one of his creatures. I understand ND has a season...don't necessarily like it but that's life I guess and if getting to pull the trigger made you're day I glad for you. But please...I don't think the Lord was cheering you on. "

dof wrote on Sep 20, 2008 4:52 AM:

" I'm betting that one of Rick's calls he tried wasn't..."Here kitty,kitty...." congratulations.... "

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