3:37 p.m. - A rural Halliday man who offered to take individuals on a mountain lion hunt for a fee has pulled his ad, citing e-mailed objections.

Travis Hallam's ad offered a party or an individual a chance at a mountain lion believed to be hanging out near his house. Rates were $3,200 for a party or $1,250 for an individual. He posted the ad on a classified ad Web site.

"One guy said it was outrageous and crazy because people can hunt for free," he said by telephone Thursday. "I said, 'yeah, but I know where one is.'"

His cousin, who was fixing a flat tire about a mile from Hallam's house, spotted the mountain lion, identified as a female with two kittens, crossing the road in front of him.

"I have three young girls, and with (a mountain lion) so close to the house, I figured 'why not?'" he said of the offer, "but I've yanked the ad. It's not that I need the money."

In his post canceling the hunt, he wrote, "If people will pay over a $1,000 a ticket to see Ohio State play Texas, what is wrong with $1,250 for a lion hunt? Regardless, opportunity is no longer offered."

An Ohio State football fan, Hallam knew the going price of those tickets because he was looking to buy some but passed on a package of six that was selling for $6,000. "The seats weren't that good, either," he said.

Instead, he opted for Ohio State-Minnesota tickets for himself and his wife, he said.

Hallam said he has noticed other signs that a lion is in the vicinity of his house.

"Sometimes, the dogs act traumatized - and they are big dogs - but sometimes they cower in their dog houses," he said.

He said he planned to accompany the lion hunter or hunting party.

"I don't mind hiking, and it's something to do," he said.

He has been offered $3,000 apiece in the past to take two people deer hunting, "but it's not my land, and I didn't take the offer."

The land where the mountain lion is believed to be hanging out belongs to his uncle, he said.

"I always thought mountain lions were cool," he said, "but that's when I was single and not when I have young girls and a lion is this close to home."

(Reach reporter Richard Hinton at 701-250-8256 or richard.hinton@bismarcktribune.com.)