Montana governor killed mountain lion that ventured outside Yellowstone, office says

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) killed a mountain lion that was being tracked by the National Park Service after the animal ventured outside the protected areas of Yellowstone National Park.

Gianforte, who had a valid mountain lion license, was part of a group that drove the mountain lion up a tree with four hounds on public land in December, the governor’s office told The Hill on Wednesday.

The governor then legally harvested the lion and reported the kill, per his office.

In January, Montana wildlife officials voted to close one region in the state for wolf hunting and trapping once a certain threshold of wolf harvests was reached. The decision came after 23 wolves ventured outside Yellowstone and were killed.

The National Park Service estimates that Yellowstone is home to 34 to 42 mountain lions year-round, though a population estimation for 2020 onward is currently underway.

The agency said it is monitoring the mountain lion population and “new research is underway to evaluate population abundance, predation patterns, and competition with other carnivores.”

The Hill has reached out to the governor’s office and the National Park Service for comment.

This story was updated at 6:24 p.m.