Box Elder Police euthanize mountain lion
BOX ELDER – The Box Elder Police have euthanized a mountain lion, which has been in and around Box Elder since Thursday.
On Friday around 9:30 p.m., the Box Elder Police Department and the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department tracked down and euthanized the mountain lion. When the animal was reported to be within city limits, officials kept an eye out for it on Friday and Saturday night.
The cat was an adult male and was around 2 years old.
South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Wildlife Conservation Officer, Chris Dekker, said by phone on Saturday that the cat was most likely on its way through town, trying to find its own territory. He said that mountain lions are commonly born within the Black Hills and then leave and become solitary animals as they grow up.
Though the mountain lion did not injure any people or pets, Dekker said that wildlife in urban areas can cause conflict.
