BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The first mountain lion has been killed in this year's experimental hunting season in North Dakota, but the hunter was cited because it was a kitten, state officials say.

Mountain lion kittens, which can be identified by their spots, are off limits under new state rules, as are female lions accompanied by kittens. Killing them is a misdemeanor that could bring jail time and up to a $1,000 fine, officials say.

Deputy state Game and Fish Department Commissioner Roger Rostvet said the female mountain lion, about 5 months old, was shot early Saturday night near Grassy Butte. He said it will count toward the quota of five lions for the experimental season.

The hunter, from the Minot area, told authorities he did not know the animal was a kitten, Rostvet said. He did not identify the hunter.

"The individual turned the cat in as he was supposed to," Rostvet said. "Last year, that cat would have been a legal cat."

The state's second season for mountain lions runs from September through March, or until five lions are killed. The rules were changed this year to bar the killing of lion kittens or females with kittens, after public comments, Rostvet said.

The Minot area hunter had been taking part in the youth deer hunting season and was returning from a hunting trip when the mountain lion kitten ran across the road in front of him northwest of Grassy Butte, Rostvet said.

The hunter was in a vehicle when he saw it, and got out and shot it, Rostvet said.

"It definitely would have been born in that area," Rostvet said. Last year, a young lion also was killed in the area, he said.

It shows the mountain lions are expanding their territory, Rostvet said.

"It's one of the reasons we've had a season," Rostvet said. "Now we know there's a fairly good breeding population in that area."

Rostvet said he was surprised the lion was killed so early in the season. Last year, he said, the first mountain lion was killed in November.