A Moody County landowner was justified in shooting a mountain lion Tuesday morning.
Arden Petersen, regional supervisor for the wildlife division of Game, Fish and Parks for southeastern South Dakota said a male mountain lion was shot by a Moody County landowner Tuesday morning. Petersen said the landowner's Jack Russell Terrier had treed the mountain lion in a nearby tree belt and he was unable to call his dog away. The mountain lion was also low in the tree and the landowner felt reaching for the dog would have endangered himself or his dog, so he shot it.
After investigating the situation, Petersen said, his office will file no charges.
"We feel the situation was justified," he said.
The lion is now at South Dakota State University where it will be studied to determine feeding habits.
Petersen said mountain lion sightings in southeastern South Dakota are intermittent. This it the third lion to be shot in the last few years. The last one was a female shot in Miner County in 2007.
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