Department of Wildlife tracks, kills mountain lion near Meeker

MEEKER — A Department of Wildlife officer shot and killed a mountain lion Aug. 16 on the Pearce Ranch, upriver on County Road 8.
“There were several house cats that had been killed,” said Randy Hampton, public information officer for the DOW. “While the resident was investigating the deaths of the house cats, she surprised a mountain lion. It turned and ran. She noticed the animal was very thin. It didn’t look right.”
Denise Pearce encountered the mountain lion and called the DOW.
A DOW officer responded and, using hound dogs, tracked the mountain lion.
“It was in a nearby ditch,” Hampton said. “It hadn’t gone very far. It was very underweight. You could tell it was sick.”