RAPID CITY, S.D. — A South Dakota man said he was attacked by a mountain lion.

Ryan Hughes, of Rapid City, said he was ice fishing Saturday at Sheridan Lake, and a lion jumped him as he left the ice and stepped into the woods.

The lion had a fresh kill in its mouth, Hughes said.

Before he could react, Hughes said the big cat jumped on top of him, knocking him on his back.

Hughes said he put his hands in front of his face and started kicking wildly.

The lion retreated, but it left the man with deep gashes on his arm, and scratches and punctures on his face.

Hughes said he reported the attack to the Game, Fish and Parks Department.

WOW

This CAN"T be true- mountain lions are not a threat to people, because I saw them on TV and there were really cuddly....

I think it is the fisherman's fault for disturbing the lion when all it wanted to do was enjoy its meal, therefore I support banning sportman's access to lion areas during mealtimes- after all they were here first...

I heard it on the radio this morning.

Damn sportsman need to quit harassing those poor little cougars. Tempting the poor feline with fish to boot. I thought baiting was illegal.

I heard it about this morning also.

I have been telling everyone that it is just a matter of time.

Sounds like he blundered into a kill site.

We have a serious cat population in the Black Hills, and the data is just starting to show that we can easily sustain a much larger harvest every year.

2007 harvest was 18 cats I believe, with no baiting or dogs allowed. I hunted pretty hard trying to get a big male I almost ran over one morning. But it wasn't to be.

The SD GFP website has a whole bunch of info on lions.
SD GFP website

nice puddy tat, here kitty, kitty, kitty
click, boom

Wow, I hunted the Black hills in 1982 through 1986, when I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB. I never saw a cougar in all the years I hunted. The population must be growing up there.

Glad the guy came out without serious injuries.

i lived in spearfish in the 1990's we moved back to montana at the very end of 1996, and talk was just then starting to buzz about mountian lion sightings again.

There are a couple of different theories as to population explosion.

1. We have had a bunch of extremely mild winters. The deer/elk populations are absolutely busting. Hence the Lion boom. I can remember what I would consider two hard winters since moving here in 1991 from the eastern part of SD.

2. The other theory is that 90% of male lions disperse from where they are born. %5 die a natural death and the other 5% stay to take over a territory.

Mt Lion populations throughout the west have done extremely well due to #1. We are getting a bunch of dispersed lions migrating in from other source populations.

They have found two collared Mt Lions from the Black Hills over 400 miles away. One in Minnesota and the other in Oklahoma.

There have also been many documented sightings in eastern SD which is farm country. They have even killed a couple. One By Howard, SD and the other by Yankton.

This proves that the Black Hills have become a source population for Mt Lions. When talking with the biologist he states " the Black Hills is all good Mt lion habitat with some pockets of superb habitat.

I have only seen two live Mt Lions. Both in the headlights of my truck. One right below my house in Spearfish and the other on the road about 15 miles up Spearfish Canyon.

My aunt took a picture of one in her backyard last July, which is about a block and half from my house.

The GFP killed a lion right in Spearfish last fall that was injured and killing domestic cats. This was about three blocks from an elementary school.

We also have big cat sanctuary in Spearfish. The demeanor that the Mt Lions take when a child walks by their pens is absolutely eye opening. They focus soley on the child knowing that it could be lunch. There is no mistaking their intent.

The GFP has had three Mt Lion seasons so far, and I don't think the hunting has even put a dent in the population. They keep raising the quota and it keeps getting met every year. Hopefully they will raise it again next year.

I read about two studies on Mt Lion population recovery.
1. A population that was reduced by 60% recovered in 36 months
2. Another reduced by 40% recoverd in 18 months.

The GFP estimated that there approx 250-350 Mt Lions in the Black Hills. This is an area approx 50x100 miles.

To top it all off SD just delisted wolves from the state endangered species act to allow for management. The GFP claim there aren't any wolves in SD, except migrating ones.

But, they will come. The nice thing is the fact that we aren't part of the wolf recovery area. That means the GFP can manage them as they see fit without Federal stumbling blocks. (at least that's what I've told)

I can guarentee that the ranchers in western SD already have their management plan in place. With many of them flying for coyotes, I don't see a huge wolf population in SD any time soon.

Sorry I was so long winded and got a little off track.

There was another article in the RC Journal about the Mt Lion attack. The article wasn't listed on the RC Journal website. I read it in my paper copy.

There seems to be some discrepancies IMO.

The GFP went to the attack site and couldn't find any Mt. Lion sign.

The dogs could not pick up the track, even though conditions were excellent for tracking on Saturday.

The guy said he fought the lion for five minutes!

The GFP is testing hairs found on the man's jacket.

I am thinking something is fishy. But it still doesn't change the fact we have a bunch of lions in the Black Hills.

Good to see lions are doing well in SD!

IV