Mountain Lion Killed Near Idaho School

We've heard of many accounts of mountain lions being spotted close to homes near the Boise foothills. This time a big female mountain lion was spotted near a school. Unfortunately it wasn't a good ending for the big cat. According to the Idaho Statesman, the 82-pound female was spotted in a tree at Bruneau Elementary School this morning. They spotted her pretty early in the day at about 8 a.m. and forced the school to go into a lockdown.

Unfortunately, there was no Fish and Game officer available to handle the incident, so the Owyhee Owyhee County Sherriff's Office had to send in an officer to deal with the issue. The mountain lion did jump out of the tree around in the 10 a.m., but according to reports, it was killed at around 10:30 a.m. just about half a mile from a school.

Apparently, this happens a lot. Fish and Game, wildlife manager Rick Ward told the Idaho Statesman, "Lion sightings are fairly common in the Bruneau area but we were unwilling to take any chance with a cat that seemed comfortable spending time in a school yard.”