Mountain Lions of the Black Hills

Characteristics of Black Hills Mountain Lions 39

with feces. Once a site for bait was established, we set a deer or other carcass at the
site and monitored it with trail or video cameras (Thompson 2009; Jansen 2011). When
we documented a lion using the bait, we would set traps (generally snares) around the
carcass and set a transmitter on the snare, which would transmit a signal to a receiver
if the trap was sprung. We then would approach the animal and immobilize it using
standard darting procedures (figs. 3.8, 3.9). Because we were able to immobilize
trapped animals quickly, we could assess the effects of the snare on the animals.
Generally, any swelling associated with the snare would be gone within a few days

figure 3.6. A mountain lion treed with the use of hounds in the Black

Hills. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks.