1884-1931 bounty kills of wolves and Cougars in Montana show Park County(adjacent to Yellowstone) as still solid habitat for our top dog and cat predators

AN ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBER OF MOUNTAIN LIONS (PUMA CONCOLOR) AND WOLVES (CANIS LUPUS) KILLED UNDER THE BOUNTY SYSTEM IN MONTANA, 1884 - 1962.  Figure AII.2. Number of mountain lion and wolf hides presented for bounty payment in Montana, 1884 - 1931.  

DESPITE BUFFALO NEAR EXTERMINATION BY LATE 1800'S, WOLVES AND COUGARS WERE STILL HANGING ON IN MONTANA......

 OUTSIDE(AND LIKELY INSIDE) GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYTEM, SIZEABLE POPULATIONS PERSISTED BEFORE THE FULL WEIGHT OF FEDERAL AND STATE LICENSED KILLING BROUGHT NEAR "LIGHTS OUT" STATUS.

Mountain lions were listed on the first state-wide Montana bounty law passed in 1884. The estimated number of lion hides presented for payment varied from 177 in 1908 to 0 in 1932 (Figure AII.1). Despite demand and an increasing bounty payment, lion hides became scarce in the late 1920's and ceased being presented for payment in 1930. Written bounty records after 1932 have been lost so that comparable data are unavailable. Conflicting reports exist. Nowak (1976) indicated 191 mountain lions were taken between 1930 and 1950 under federal animal damage control. Montana Fish and Game Commission (unpublished files) suggest fewer than 5 annually were taken statewide under the bounty system until 1950. The number taken then increased through the 1950s to 167 in the 1961-1962 biennium (Riley 1992).

Bounty prices increased from $8.00 ($269 in 1995 dollars) per lion and $1.00 ($34 in 1995 dollars) per wolf in 1884 to $25.00 ($270 in 1995 dollars) for either species in 1930. Wolf pup prices increased from 50 cents in 1884 ($17 in 1995 dollars) to $5.00 ($54 in 1995 dollars) in 1930.

Records taken from original bounty record books permit enumeration of bounty take by counties as they existed in 1900 (Table AII.1 and 2).   Park County, in southwest Montana adjacent to Yellowstone National Park was in the top 5 counties for density of lion and wolf take (number 5).135 136

Table AII.1. The total wolf and mountain lion bounty payments by Montana counties, 1900 - 1931. 1930 County Name	Adult Wolf	Wolf Pup	Total Wolf	Mountain Lion
Beaverhead	597	116	713	28
Big_horn	203	446	649	0
Blaine	80	125	205	1
Broadwater	77	6	83	6
Carbon	279	105	384	2
Carter	5	21	26	0
Cascade	694	558	1252	31
Chouteau	1111	2503	3614	35
Custer	2448	3082	5530	4
Daniels	1	0	1	0
Dawson	1083	1167	2250	8
Deerlodge	53	8	61	0
Fallon	51	118	169	0
Fergus	1043	1553	2596	35
Flathead	492	16	508	791
Gallatin	106	147	253	18
Garfield	3	25	28	0
Glacier	12	0	12	1
Golden Valley	3	0	3	0
Granite	31	2	33	20
Hill	76	55	131	0
Jefferson	71	2	73	9
Judith Basin	5	4	9	0
Lake	0	0	0	3
Lewis and Clark	250	119	369	33
Liberty	9	13	22	0
Lincoln	738	14	752	105
Mccone	4	17	21	0
Madison	122	18	140	14
Meagher	612	243	855	29
Mineral	0	3	3	8
Missoula	20	8	28	148
Musselshell	157	246	403	0
Park	405	58	463	67
Petroleum	0	0	0	0
Phillips	61	66	127	0