Young hunter shoots mountain lion in self-defense

By GWEN ALBERS Western News Reporter

A 12-year-old who shot a mountain lion out of fear for his life will donate the dead animal to a wildlife museum planned for Troy.

Jon Obst, game warden for Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks in Libby and Troy, determined Austin Grable of Troy had killed the 2-year-old cougar to protect himself.

"With kids, we err on the side of caution," Obst said. "If it's a potential threat to them, we will look at this angle."

Grable, who was deer hunting with his father, did not have a license to take the animal and will not be fined. He however cannot keep the lion, Obst said.

Grable has no doubt the cougar he saw crouched behind a bush was stalking him.

"He was really sneaking up on me," he said. "I thought he was going to kill me."

A sixth-grader at Troy Public Schools, Grable on Nov. 8 was hunting with his father, Steve, in the Lake Creek area near their Bull Lake home.

"He was on the lower road and I was on the upper road," Steve Grable said. "All of a sudden I heard a shot and peaked my head over the edge. I saw him first and what I thought was a deer lying on the middle of the road, until I saw the long tail swish back and forth. By the time I got there, it was dead."

Minutes before, Steve Grable had radioed his son to tell him it was getting dark and it was time to head home.

"I said, 'I keep hearing something in the bushes,' and thought it might be a deer," Austin Grable said. "I kept hearing it when all of a sudden I had a feeling I was being watched. I turned around and looked up on the hill and saw movement below."

"I saw a mountain lion crouched behind a bush, took three or four steps over and shot it," he continued.

Austin Grable figures the cat was 40 yards from him.

"He was totally focused on me and totally hiding," he said. "He was really sneaking."

Steve Grable has no doubt his son did the right thing.

"After hearing the story and seeing how close he was . . . it was going to pounce," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to my kid, let's not question it."

Things like this happen every year, especially during archery season, Obst said.

"When hunting elk or deer, they cover themselves in their scent. Young cats that haven't been exposed to humans much are curious and will check it out," he said.

Obst said the Grables did the right thing by contacting him.

News that the mountain lion would go to the wildlife museum pleased Troy taxidermist Al Schad, who plans to donate his time to mount animals and birds for the interpretive center.

"That would be just great," said Schad, owner of Schad Brothers Taxidermy on Milnor Lake Road. "It will mean more to him once the building gets up."

Troy received an anonymous $70,000 donation to build the museum in Roosevelt Park.

In addition, FWP plans to donate a more than 300-pound cinnamon-colored black bear and a mountain lion for mounts at the museum. Both were legally shot by local livestock owners.

The museum may be built near the park's fishing pond with construction possibly beginning in the spring.