Welcome to Kenmare

Feature Stories (Vol. 109 No. 31--8/01/2007)

Cougar encountered again on Lake Road

By Caroline Downs

Jane Kalmbach shared Thursday’s cool morning air with a mountain lion.

Kalmbach was taking her usual walk along the Boat Dock Road on the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, headed back to her parked truck, when her Labrador retriever suddenly raised a fuss. Kalmbach stopped to look over the situation and noticed a mountain lion, camouflaged by grass, on the west side of the road.

"I could see the top of the head and the ears sticking out," she said. "I would have never seen it if [Maggie] hadn’t been growling."

The lion was sitting in a grassy clearing about three and a half miles northwest of Kenmare, near a speed limit sign on the Boat Dock Road. "I’m not good at judging distance," Kalmbach said. "It was between the railroad tracks and the road. It was close enough to see the color inside the ears, which was a dark brown."

The lion never moved and did not respond to the dog’s barking, but merely watched Kalmbach and her pet. Kalmbach had ample time to study the shape of the cougar’s head and ears, although she recalled looking away at one point before searching the grass again to find the animal. "It was so camouflaged in there," she said, "all that grass. I saw it from the eyes up."

Having heard other reports of mountain lions in the area during the past year, including a sighting by Carolyn Martin farther south on the Boat Dock Road in June, Kalmbach wanted to be certain of her own encounter. "It just sat there, eerily calm," she said. "I looked back and forth two times, but it didn’t move. I was thinking, ‘Now look and make sure.’"

She noted the shape of the ears and, especially, the roundness of the head characteristic of a mountain lion, then decided she didn’t want to stand there much longer. "I grabbed a large rock," she said, "and just kept telling Maggie to stay and to heel."

Kalmbach slowly continued her walk down the road. "I don’t think I completely turned my back on it," she said.

She estimated she saw the lion between 7 and 7:30 am, and returned to her truck by 7:45 am. She started her walk that morning about 6:15 am and didn’t know if she had passed the lion in the same place on her way out.

She called her husband with the news on the cell phone she carries, which also takes digital photographs. "Lance was mad because I didn’t take a picture," she said, laughing. She added the thought had briefly crossed her mind, but she was worried about losing control of her dog if she concentrated on a photo.

"Maybe it was just as scared of us," Kalmbach said, "but it certainly wasn’t trying to get away from me. It wasn’t intimidated, like I was!"

She contacted the Des Lacs NWR headquarters when she returned to her house and reported the sighting. "I don’t know if I felt in danger," she said. "I was alarmed and wanted to get some distance from it, but it was in its own territory."

Despite her own unease with the situation, she did not want the animal to be harmed, especially on the refuge. "It’s not right that it should be killed," she said.

Game & Fish contacted
Jim Burud, North Dakota Game and Fish Department game warden in Kenmare, heard the same sentiment from Kalmbach when he talked with her. Burud accompanied a Des Lacs NWR staff member to the site and investigated the area for tracks or signs of a recent kill.

"I’m not confirming or denying it," he said, "but there was not physical evidence of a cat and no kill site. I went out there, but it was just grass. There’s a big culvert next to [that area], and there were no tracks, even in the wet soil."

Burud said the Game and Fish Department would not typically enter a national wildlife refuge to remove a mountain lion or other problem animal, which would involve a complicated set of federal rules. "We won’t just go and take a cat out of its habitat," he said. The Department will, however, deal with problem lions that attack livestock or frequent residential areas.

He added that the state biologists don’t consider Kenmare and the surrounding region as core lion habitat, which generally has more rugged topography and dense vegetation, like the badlands in the southwestern part of the state. "But we’ve got the habitat that would support them," he said. The city of Estevan, about 65 miles north of Kenmare in Saskatchewan, has reported a mountain lion population for the past few years.

Kalmbach resumes routine
Kalmbach intended to return to her regular walking route, despite her meeting with the mountain lion. She knew about Martin’s earlier lion sighting, but didn’t want a chance encounter to ruin the pleasure she takes in the refuge. In fact, she acknowledged perhaps she and the lion shared a similar appreciation that day. "The morning was nice and cool," she said. "Maybe it was soaking up the sun and the view."

She enjoys her walks along the Boat Dock Road precisely because she often observes rabbits, deer, waterfowl and other wildlife. "We’re lucky to live where we live," she said, "where we get to see wildlife all the time."

* * * * *

Living with mountain lions

By Caroline Downs

A brochure just released by the ND Game and Fish Department addresses the identification and habits of mountain lions, as well as the concerns about living with them in the state. Adult lions are typically six to eight feet in length with a tawny-colored body, a long back-tipped tail and black-tipped ears. Their tracks, when found, are wider than long, with a three- to five-inch spread and absence of claw marks.

Lions maintain territories varying in size from 50 to 300 square miles, depending on terrain and availability of food. Females with young kittens utilize a small area, while adult males range the farthest and may overlap the territories of three to five breeding-aged females.

Mountain lions primarily feed on deer and elk, but supplement their diet with smaller prey like rabbits and porcupines. They often drag their kills to a concealed place and then bury their kills with dirt, leaves or snow between feedings.

Attacks on humans are rare, with no attacks reported in North Dakota through 2006. In comparison, 8,000 people are injured by venomous snakes every year, while more than 300,000 people are hurt by domestic dogs.

If you meet a mountain lion
The Game and Fish Department does suggest several practical responses that can reduce the potential for harm in the event a person does meet a mountain lion. The lion should not be approached. The individual should stay calm and move slowly while talking to the animal, giving it a way to escape the situation. The person should back away slowly rather than turning to run, and should face the lion, staying upright.

An individual should create a larger appearance by raising his or her arms or opening a jacket. A person can also speak or shout firmly and aggressively toward the lion and throw stones, branches or any other nearby object that can be reached without crouching down. Periods of long, loud noises seem to deter lions.

Finally, if the cougar does attack, the person should fight back and try to remain standing. According to the brochure, people who have been attacked in other states have fought off mountain lions with sticks, rocks, caps and jackets, and even their bare hands.

The Game and Fish Department also provided advice to people who live in or visit mountain lion country:

*Do not feed wildlife, especially deer, because lions will follow their prey to feeding sites.

*Keep pets under control because roaming pets become easy prey for lions. Secure pets at night and avoid feeding them outside, which can attract raccoons and other potential lion prey.

*Keep farm yard animals confined at night, and close doors to outbuildings to discourage visits from inquisitive lions.

*Supervise children when outdoors, especially after dusk and before dawn when lions are likely to be most active.

*Walk in groups when hiking in lion country, and consider carrying a sturdy walking stick.

*Avoid jogging alone, or at dusk, dawn or night when lions are most active.

*If you have a large dog, hike or jog with it leashed by your side.

*If you find a lion kill, leave the area. The lion may remain close by the site where it buried its prey.

Cougar station
at Greenwing Day
Children and their parents who participate in the Greenwing Day activities planned for August 9th at the Des Lacs NWR will review even more information about mountain lions in North Dakota, and will have the opportunity to get their questions answered.