This was an actual scenario that did happen. And here's what we did. For everyone that said shoot it, you just broke the law...and enough ethical issues that I hope this scenario will make you think about this.
It has been documented that at any one time, 70% of female lions have dependent young. Most lions have their young in the spring, but they can and do have them at any month of the year. Kittens stay with the female for up to a year and a half before they take off. Here in Colorado, it is illegal to kill a kitten or female accompanied by a spotted kitten.
As soon as I looked at this cat, I could tell it was a mature female. I've treed hundreds of cats in the past 34 years of running dogs and with rare exception, I won't even turn out on a female. I have had guys take a couple of females that were usually some type of depredation issue and I have no issue with that but typically, if you enjoy running lions, you are much better off leaving the females alone. If you are on a guided hunt, it is my opinion that you should never take a female. I've allowed one paid hunter to take a female many years ago when I was out with him looking for a Tom track and I got a call about a lion that had been killing goats. I explained to the client that it might be a female and if it had dependent young, we would be walking away. It was a female, but she didn't have any young. It's fairly easy to see if a female is nursing or not once she's in the tree.
So as soon as we noticed that this was a female, there was no question, we left her alone. And good thing because around 5 in the afternoon, she went into the thick cover nearby and four spotted kittens came out and began to feed. One thing that was interesting is that for the next three days that they fed on this deer, the kittens would never come out to feed at the same time she was feeding. The female would always go into the nearby cover when the kittens came out to feed. They would never all come out at the same time. This is still a mystery to me.
Lions will stay with the carcass and either lay on top of it or lay next to it to protect it from other scavengers, birds, foxes and coyotes. So if you've ever found a lion kill, you probably spooked the cat off and didn't even know it. The lion won't be too far away. They don't always stay right with the carcass but in most cases that I've taken trailcam pics of a lion on a kill, they will stay right there very close.
If you have a lion hunt booked, hopefully, you are booked with an outfitter that will only shoot mature Toms and you've talked to him about it beforehand. Remember, 70% of females have dependent young at any one time. It's not that much more difficult to find a Tom track. But it can be done, a lot of good houndsmen/outfitters have proven that. Hopefully this example will make you think about shooting females. A big mature Tom makes a terrific trophy.
For those that want every lion killed, you don't even deserve a response, a little education is in order. Hopefully, later in your hunting career you'll understand what I mean. Weather it's a conservation issue or an ethical issue, generally females should be left alone.
So for those that said to shoot this cat, are you headed down to Fish and Game to turn yourself in?
