Idaho Fish and Game relocates mountain lion from Pocatello neighborhood

On April 18, Idaho Department of Fish and Game removed a young adult male mountain lion from a north Pocatello neighborhood off of Hawthorne Road.

At approximately 7 a.m. on Thursday morning, a Fish and Game conservation officer was contacted by the Pocatello Police Department (PPD) regarding a mountain lion in a tree in a Pocatello resident’s yard.  The cat left that tree and ran up a second tree on a different street where it remained until Fish and Game personnel arrived.

Fish and Game staff and PPD officers worked collaboratively with others on scene to keep the 90-pound lion treed until the Fish and Game immobilization team arrived.  The lion was darted, ear-tagged, and after recovering from the sedation, was released to a remote southeast Idaho location.

It is not known if this is the same mountain lion reported by another member of the public at a Chubbuck business during the early morning hours on April 17, though it is likely the same cat. 

Though reports of lions in town are not frequent, they do happen.  Many of Pocatello and Chubbuck’s neighborhoods are built in the urban-wildland interface shared with wildlife, and wildlife will even move into and through town.  In this case, it was likely that the young adult lion was seeking prey like urban deer, marmots, or even pets.

For tips about living and recreating in lion country, check out Idaho Fish and Game’s brochure Living with Mountain Lions which can be found at regional Fish and Game offices or online at https://idfg.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/brochure_living-with-mtn-lions-2016-m.pdf. 

If you have any questions about mountain lions or wish to report an observation in southeast Idaho, you may call the Southeast Region Fish and Game office at 208-232-4703.