LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska wildlife officials say they have euthanized a mountain lion found in a steel-jawed bobcat trap in Dawes County in the state’s panhandle.
Officials with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission say the animal was found and put down on Monday.
The trap was legally set and the trapper called officials as soon as he discovered the mountain lion. The animal was described as an adult female weighing about 120 pounds.
Officials say they try to tranquilize any mountain lion that is accidentally trapped if it can be done safely and the animal is uninjured, but the mountain lion’s leg was still trapped and it was pulling the stakes that secured the trap in the ground free.
Officials say the animal would not have survived had it escaped.