Proceedings of the Seventh Mountain Lion Workshop

50 TEXAS MOUNTAIN LION STATUS REPORT · Young
HARVEST INFORMATION
Texas relies primarily on hunters, private
landowners, and trappers to voluntarily
report mountain lion kills. Texas also
obtains an annual report from Texas
Wildlife Damage Management Services
(Table 1). There is an open season on
mountain lions in Texas year-round. TPWD
does not set harvest guidelines or bag limits
for this species. Mountain lions may be
taken by trap, shooting, hunting with dogs,
aerial hunting, or M44. Records on the
number of lions harvested by different
methods are not collected.
TPWD does not have a predator incident
manual/policy/guideline for mountain lions
although such has been developed for black
bear. In the past 10 years there are only 3
known public safety incidents in Texas
related to mountain lion. Due to their rarity,
TPWD does not formally record/collect
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH MOUNTAIN LION WORKSHOP
information on public safety incidents
involving mountain lion. Depredation
complaints received at TPWD are referred to
Texas Wildlife Damage Management
Services (TWDMS). In 2001/02 a total of
53 lions were killed by TWDMS personnel.
Information on cougars removed by
TWDMS prior to 2001/02 had been
combined with other mortalities and has not
been available separately.
Individuals wishing to report a sighting
or a problem with mountain lions are
encouraged to contact TPWD. The
department provides individuals
experiencing depredation problems with the
number for their local TWDMS office for
action. Relocation of mountain lions is
discouraged but may be conducted by
private organizations if they acquire the
appropriate permits.