Custer Man Kills Mountain Lion on Front Porch

CUSTER, S.D. (AP) - A rural Custer man who discovered a mountain lion lounging on his porch shot and killed the animal.

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks wildlife manager John Kanta tells the Rapid City Journal that the man shot the lion with a .22-caliber rifle Monday night and the animal died about 50 feet from his front door. He says the female lion weighed about 80 pounds.

Kanta says it's possible that the lion was after the man's pets. He says the killing was justified because the lion posed a danger to the pets and to the man.

Kanta did not identify the man.

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