It's the first time a mountain
 lion has been
 killed in
 Arkansas since 1975 in
 Logan County.
The hunter, Douglas W. Ramer, 62, of Bastrop,
 Louisiana, told wildlife officers the mountain lion
 was moving toward his deer stand and he felt
threatened. According to Arkansas Game and
Fish Commission regulations, non-game wildlife
 (except migratory birds and endangered species)
 that present a reasonable threat to people or
 property may be shot during daylight hours or
 trapped without a depredation permit.
Ramer, who was on private property, reported the
 incident to wildlife officers Wednesday. He has
not been charged with violating regulations, although
 officers are continuing to investigate the incident.
The carcass was given to AGFC biologists. Hair from
 the mountain lion will be sent to Wildlife Genetics
Laboratory in Missoula, Montana, for DNA testing,
 which often can reveal an animal's area of birth.
Mountain lions - also known as pumas and cougars -
 lived throughout Arkansas until about 1920. The AGFC
 offered bounties and hired trappers to control
 predators during 1927-29. At least 255 wolves
and 523 bobcats were killed, but no mountain lions
 were taken.
Five sightings of mountain lions in Arkansas have
 been confirmed in the last five years, although a
breeding population has not been verified. A few
mountain lion sightings in Missouri, Oklahoma and
 Louisiana also have been confirmed in recent years.
A mountain lion was killed in Montgomery County in
 1949 and another in Ashley County in 1969. In late
 1998, a team from the University of Arkansas at
Little Rock observed tracks, feces and a deer kill
 from a free-ranging mountain lion across Hot
Spring, Garland and Pulaski counties.
(Source: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission)