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GF&P big-game biologist John Kanta said the lion had to be killed because it was hunting and killing deer in town. "That's a substantial public safety issue," Kanta said.
The female was killed with several shots from a pistol after it was treed by hounds in a canyon in the Carriage Hills development. The lion was tracked to a "fairly remote location," he said, where it was deemed safe to shoot.
The lion fell from the tree after it was shot but it took a few more rounds to kill it, Kanta said. "They're very hardy animals," he said. "They're very difficult to kill with one shot."
A necropsy was performed later that morning. The cat had apparently given birth to two kittens, the necropsy revealed, Kanta said.
One of the kittens, a 40-pound female, was darted and captured Sunday. On Tuesday, the hunt was on for the second lion kitten, which is about the same size.
The captured kitten was upset and was being kept in confinement at the GF&P office in Rapid City Tuesday morning. Kanta said he hoped the kitten would soon be on a plane and headed to a zoo.
Darren Meier of Rapid City spotted a kitten in a tree in his family's yard Sunday. He called authorities.
Kanta and other GF&P staffers darted and captured the kitten and Kanta then spotted a mule deer carcass. While he was examining the carcass he saw the adult lion a few feet away. That led to the two-day hunt for the mother and her kitten.
Kanta said reports of another lion, dubbed Sylvester, living near the Rapid City Regional Hospital, and the sighting of this adult lion and her kittens shows that lions are living in Rapid City.
"Yeah, I think that's pretty obvious now," he said. "And the fact it was killing deer in a back yard and dragging it past a swing set shows that."
