Lions eat miniature horse
A pair of mountain lions killed and
partially ate a miniature horse near a residence on Blanchard Lake
Road outside Whitefish.
The incident happened Dec. 8. After the
lions killed the 31-inch-tall horse, they dragged it away, ate part
of it and cached the rest.
Lion specialist Erik Wenum of Montana
Fish Wildlife and Parks set a trap near the carcass and caught a
135-pound, 5-year-old lion the next day. The male was
euthanized.
At the time, Wenum wasn’t sure if one
lion or two lions were the culprit, but later that same afternoon
the landowner saw another lion feeding on the carcass. The
landowner called Wenum who then authorized the man to shoot the
lion.
That lion was a 110-pound female. The
two were likely a breeding pair. Wenum said the lions weren’t far
from the family’s home and FWP has a “zero tolerance” policy for
lions near houses.
He said the area was good lion habitat.
Lions typically don’t prey on horses. In his experience, he’s dealt
with more lions that have been killed by horses or mules than the
other way around.
Adult horses and mules are good at
fending for themselves.
The horses are generally injured in the
encounter when they run into a fence.
But a miniature horse is much smaller
prey and lions will kill and eat llamas, goats and other small pets
like dogs and cats.
Residents living in lion habitat should
try to put the animals in a barn at night if possible to ensure
their protection. People have also moved into areas like Many
Lakes, Rhodes Draw and McMannamy Draw, which are excellent winter
deer winter range.
With deer around homes, lions are bound
to follow their prey, Wenum noted.
This winter in Glacier National Park,
where lions are largely protected, lion tracks have been seen
regularly in the Apgar and West Glacier areas, which is also winter
range for deer.
Lion attacks on humans are exceedingly
rare. Most lions are secretive, solitary creatures and rarely
seen.