That all five mountain lions killed in the Badlands season were females isn't a surprise to the biologist who examined them..

"When you have a population of mountain lions that are lightly hunted, females are more abundant," North Dakota Game and Fish Department furbearer biologist Dorothy Fecske said Tuesday afternoon after she did a preliminary examination of the fifth cougar.

The subadult males take off in search of new territory, and the subadult females don't travel far from where they are born, Fecske said. An adult male's territory can accommodate anywhere from one to five females, Fecske added.

This latest - and last - female killed in the Badlands lion season was another sub-adult, Fecske's analysis showed.

The cat weighed 84 pounds, and its age was estimated between 1½ and 2½ years. The lion measured 76 inches from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. And the cat hadn't nursed in the past, Fecske said.

A Dickinson hunter, Wes Jensen, shot the cat Saturday, officially closing the cougar season in zone 1, which is considered key habitat for lions. The season remains open in the rest of the state until March 9. No cats have been killed outside of the Badlands so far this season.

Like the fourth cat, this cat was traveling with two other lions when it was killed. Whether the trio comprised three siblings or a mother and two siblings is unknown.

"This is an indication that we have quite a bit of breeding activity occurring in the Badlands region," said Fecske. And in that breeding population mix would be the mothers of these latest subadult cats, she added.

Word the season had closed apparently got out to hunters who still were after their deer on opening weekend because no other lions were reported to NDGFD as the fifth lion, Randy Kreil, chief of the wildlife division, said Tuesday.

The mountain lion fitted with a radio collar continues to meander in the Badlands.

"At last estimate, it's using an area of about 140 square miles. It appears to be establishing a territory in the Badlands," Fecske said.

(Reach outdoor writer Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or richard.hinton@;bismarcktribune.com.)