Posted by Rick on Sep 20 2006 6:42AM - Mr. Herslip is as poor a hunter as our VP, if you don't know what your shoting at don't shut. This is (Bible) one of the rules of hunting.

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Posted by Charles on Sep 20 2006 11:01AM - A full-grown cat weighs more than 26 pounds. This kitten was the size of a large house cat. I hunt & if you can not identify the thing you are aiming at then don't pull the trigger.

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Posted by Rick on Sep 20 2006 12:27PM - Charles you are so correct, why doesn't the news media say this? The news in Minot Stinks.

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Posted by Robin on Sep 20 2006 1:07PM - The guy is a nitwit. He set to shoot a cat, and by God he did. He got his thrill. Glad neither I nor my pets are out in the bushes while he's got his gun. He needs his guns and licenses confiscated, but...this is America, we can't do that, and a man NEEDS his guns, just in case he gets jumped by....by..something or other.

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Posted by Vic on Sep 20 2006 1:33PM - and how can someone go bankrupt and have every toy in the world?

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Posted by Keith on Sep 20 2006 2:31PM - Keep in mind this individual was out hunting with his kids during the youth deer season.Give the guy credit for being an honest sportsman and setting a good example for his kids by admitting he was wrong, and informing the game and fish of what he had done. What he did set a great example for his kids.

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Posted by Rick on Sep 20 2006 3:14PM - Wrong, he should not have pulled the trigger. (example), lets see pull the triger even though you dont have any idea what it is.

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Posted by Rick on Sep 20 2006 3:22PM - Keith, you seem to know more about this story than the rest of us. I read the article again and can't find were it says he was hunting with his kids. So who are you? and shame on him for setting such a bad example by showing kids to shot when you dont now what it is.

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Posted by Joe on Sep 20 2006 4:47PM - Mountain Lions don't belong here anyway. Part of living in ND and putting up with the nasty winter weather is to be away from the poisonous bugs and plants. Another part is being away from vicious animals that we have to protect our children or even ourselves from. I think the Game and Fish need to increase the hunting limits on the lions and perhaps make some money off the selling of the permits to hunt the lions and use that money somewhere more useful like on waterfowl and fishing projects.

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Posted by Casie on Sep 20 2006 5:50PM - A mature adult cougar can weigh up to 200 lbs. This cat he shot was far too young, probably not even a year old yet by the sounds of it. And er, Joe... at one point in time, cougars did in fact roam almost all of the lower 48 states and ranged from northern British Columbia to southern Chile. When people started to establish homes and towns, they were forced into remote areas. Cougars are just making a come back whether we want them to or not.

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Posted by wayne on Sep 20 2006 5:58PM - i dont care if its a kitten or a full grown lion they all need to be shot. i am sick and tired of all the wildlife lovers wanting to save them all. all they is cause trouble by killing livestock causing loss in income for ranchers. if i see a cat i will shoot it regardless of the size and the 5 limit for the state one gets in my sights it deaddddddddddd

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Posted by Tim on Sep 20 2006 8:48PM - You must not be an ethical hunter wayne. That is why the set regulation and rules for every game so everyone can hunt them. You should not be able to carry a gun. You are the type of person that puts a bad name on the sport that we all love.

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Posted by Vic on Sep 21 2006 6:59AM - What is next the ranchers dont want? so we will just keep killing for them, hell they probley get paid by the G&F when they have cattle killed.

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Posted by Mike on Sep 21 2006 7:02AM - So tell me Mr. Herslip do you teach your young kids good economics? Mr. Bankrupt man with all the nice toys, and home, and vehicles.

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Posted by HEATH on Sep 21 2006 8:29AM - I DONT THINK MR. HERSLIP GOIGN BANKRUPT HAS ANYTHIGN TO DO WITH THE ISSUE... BUT I DO THINK THE GUY NEEDS GLASS/OR BETTER ONES IF HE DOES...HE TOOK THE SPORT OUT OF HUNTING FOR ONE LESS PERSON THIS YEAR, I THINK HE SHOUDL GET A STIFF FINE

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Posted by Galen on Sep 21 2006 9:54AM - He didn't any favors for the rest of us hunters who do play within the rules of proper hunting. He should know better than to shoot at something that young and obviously not a legal target.

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Posted by Ralph on Sep 21 2006 9:55AM - I think the only thing questionable about Mr. Herslip shooting the young mountain lion is in determining the age and size of the cat. In low light conditions it could be difficult to see the spots, maybe he shouldn't have shot the animal. However, there is a more serious situation evolving here. There seems to be more and more sightings near populated areas. There are more and more sightings in rural areas. It doesn't matter if it is a large cat or a small cat, if it is in your yard where your kids play, it could be a problem. These animals need to be eliminated before someone gets killed, we shouldn't wait until after someone gets killed before we act. These animals seem to have no fear and are coming into populated areas like SE Minot. I feel there should be a bounty on lions rather than a limited number to be harvested. Remember, the only animal higher on the food chain is a grizzly bear. Think about it!

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Posted by mark on Sep 21 2006 5:13PM - Mr. herslip did not shot this cat his girl did and i was told that today at scheels.

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Posted by Jake on Sep 21 2006 6:45PM - I can't believe those who are scared of mountain lions. Look at the records and see how many people have been attacked in ND. You have a better chance of getting struck by lightning. These are amazing animals and there are very few left in this area. Just let em be, and if you see one consider yourself lucky.

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Posted by Sandi on Sep 21 2006 6:49PM - Does it really matter if someone shot a cat? There are things in life to be worried about,

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Posted by Vic on Sep 21 2006 8:19PM - I heard the same thing, but did not want to say anything. So tell me do you still think he is a great dad? and a good example for hunting safety?

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Posted by Sandi on Sep 21 2006 8:27PM - Yes it does, did the girl have a license? I dont think so, which means the little cat was taken illegal. (Rules Sandi) or don't they mean anything for this family.

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Posted by Vic on Sep 21 2006 8:28PM - Keith if this is true do you still think he is honest?

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Posted by Tracy P. on Sep 21 2006 11:30PM - I'm from Canada and there is one thing about the USA that is obvious. The USA people shoot then ask questions later. You people shoot anything that moves, why would this be any different. Don't fool yourself, he had the balls to fess up. There are tons of people that would not have. Don't judge him for doing what he did, you probably have done worse in your past.

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Posted by Ruth Robinson on Sep 22 2006 8:56AM - Anyone that claims to be a hunter ought to know the difference between a cat and a 26# kitten. He just wanted to be able to talk himself up in front of his "buddies"-"I shot a mountain lion". I bet he won't tell his buddies that he shot a kitten!

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Posted by Smith on Sep 22 2006 9:00AM - There is no equation that says that a human child is worth more than a mountain lion cub. Sorry, but them's the facts.

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Posted by Ray on Sep 22 2006 12:21PM - these animals were here long before we came, and humans need to learn how to live in the environment. It it wrong to change the environment in order to make it easier for us humans to live here. Leave the cats alone. If anyone wants to go out wandering in the woods and bluffs, they should be aware of what is out there and how to protect themselves or just plain stay away.

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Posted by gunner on Sep 22 2006 1:54PM - Hey Mark, Using such a viable source as Scheels it should be capitalized. BTW do they have any info on Hoffa there????

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Posted by mark on Sep 22 2006 3:05PM - hey gunner..nice name..i know the girl who works at scheels that was hunting with MR.Herslip.

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Posted by Elroy on Sep 22 2006 4:30PM - It figures, the at Steels girl didn't know any more about hunting mountian lions as the guy behind the counter who sold her the gun!

She should of used a bow!

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Posted by Chris Clemens on Sep 22 2006 6:57PM - Good job dude. Weve all broken the laws of hunting. I have. Dont bother me any. (Ya, we all know you thought it was a full grown cat...lol) I dont look down upon you for it. Yes they are a beautiful animals. But everything must go someday. Look me up, Ill hunt with you when I get back from Iraq. I dont have a problem shooting at anything. Including liberals.

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Posted by Kansan on Sep 22 2006 7:38PM - After reading your comments, I am happy that I do not live in ND. What's with you guys up there. What's wrong with a father that takes a child hunting and then doesn't pay attention to what she is doing? Kill a baby Mountain Lion? Why in the world would anybody kill any of them, they deserve all the space they have managed to get back in the last 50 or so years. And yeah, their is no equations that says people are worth more that Lions, or for that matter Ranch Stock.

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Posted by Christrf on Sep 23 2006 2:14PM - Kansan,

Why don't you mind your own business. We are happy you do not live here as well! Fathers take children hunting all the time. Mistakes do happen though. So go back and tend to your sheep.

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Posted by joe on Sep 23 2006 6:30PM - cats like that are a problem and need to be taken care of. if the game and fish are going to keep introducing them into our farming and ranching areas, of course they wont admit it, then the cats are going to come to our towns and cities. there are protected areas for them, not our lands with our livestock and our kids!

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Posted by huntinbuddy on Sep 24 2006 10:42AM - I think most of the people that have commented need to wake up from their dreams and be a little more honest themselves. I think you can all say that you would never shoot one until one decides to sneak up on you. I used to be just like you guys. Now after seeing one and how they do sneak up on people, I will shoot every one that I see. Not for myself but for the people that are with me and for my childrens sake so they wont be attacked later on by an animal that should only be at the zoos.

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Posted by Ray on Sep 24 2006 11:52AM - Can you all just think back couple hundred years before people came and settled on this land. WE are the ones that need to learn to live with them. This is their land too. if you are all afraid of the wildlife out there, why don't you go live in a cage in the zoo. Get some perspective. People and animals need to learn how to CO exist, and that doesn't mean shooting something into extinction cause we"re afraid of it. Maybe if people didn't dig up every inch of space on the earth to plant crops and let cattle graze, these cats wouldn't be a "problem". I am just sickened by the attutudes of most of these comments. I don't like squirrels and I don't like black birds and I don't like my neighbor cause he doesn't belong here. Let's just shoot everything we are afraid of and
don't like. You all sound like children.

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Posted by Tracey on Sep 24 2006 2:24PM - I am confused here. You people are saying that if a Mountain Lion comes into my yard and kills my kid or kids, that this is just the way life and nature is meant to be? That the Moutain Lion had the right to stalk, kill, and eat my children becasue his ancestors were here first? You people are more scary than the Mountian Lion! The chances of me being there to intervene are nill to none. Therefore, I will just elimate the problem before it even happens. We have had a Mountian Lion in our area all summer. It has killed 2 dogs and tore one up so badly that the dog is lucky to be alive. The Lion was seen walking through a neighbor's yard at two in the afternoon. So, let me explain it to you people in a way that maybe you will understand. A 45-65 pound dog will smell, see, and hear a Mountain Lion approaching. If this Mountain Lion can take out a 45-65 pound dog that knows it is being approached by a Mountain Lion and fights back to protect it's property (like a farm dog will do), then why on God's green earth would you people think that a Lion would not take out a small child of the same weight who does not even know that they are being approached by a Lion while playing forts in the trees??? This Mountain Lion is coming into people's yards and taking out their farm dogs! If I see this Mountain Lion, I will shoot it NOT to fill a tag, and I will shoot it NOT because of the sport of hunting. The shoot will have nothing to do with "The Ethics of Hunting", because I will not be hunting the Mountain Lion. I will be shooting the Moutain Lion because I am protecting my children, livestock, and property just like my ancestors did. There will be eithics and morals behind what I do, but "hunting" will have nothing to do with it! I do not care what you think or what you say about my opinion on this. Why don't you follow through with your point of view. You give back all the property you have, including your parents' property and grandparents property, to the Native Americans that were here first. Your ancestors took their land away from them, and you should give it back. Come on, you are not a hypocrite too are you? And Jake, I do not send my kids out in a lightning storm, but if I had a choice, I would much rather send my kids outside to play in a lightning storm than in the yard to play with a Mountian Lion lurching in the trees.

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Posted by Tracey on Sep 24 2006 2:27PM - Ray,
How does a Mountain Lion learn to co-exist with people without killing. Where do you think your food comes from, a grocery store? And where do you think the Lion's food comes from?

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Posted by Christrf on Sep 24 2006 5:20PM - Ray,

What are you, an idiot? We need to co exist? The Good Lord gave man dominion over other creatures. Perhaps hugging all those trees has given you that pacifist attitude. If want to co exist with animals, maybe you should let them live with you in your tree house where you can share nuts and berries and live in harmony!

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Posted by JR on Sep 24 2006 5:47PM - christrf. are you an idiot.when you are out hugging trees and a lion bits you in the ass. you and all your peta friends will be the first to say sum of the lion's need to be killed.

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Posted by Kendra on Sep 24 2006 7:24PM - Ray,
I think you are one of only a few of us left that actually believe that our wildlife are beautiful and necessary. Yes I said necessary. They help keep down the population of other wildlife that alot of you ***** about at other times. For example, the deer that alot of farmers hate because they eat their crops. If you go and read Genesis in the Bible, you will find that God made the animals first! I have more feelings for animals than humans because of such mean spirited, closed minded people who are never happy about anything and would ***** if you hung them with a new rope.
Why don't you try to scare the animal away first instead of killing it. We can all coexist if everyone would just try. Remember that this is God's land and he wanted us to help nurture his animals and only take what was necessary to survive. It's scary reading how many of you would shoot first and ask questions later. Think about all of the children and adults that have been killed while out hunting because of hunters who are careless and trigger happy. I went deer hunting one year and I have to tell you that it scared me to death seeing how many people are out there in the same area. Accidents are just waiting to happen. And no I did not shoot a deer or even try and have never went back out since. I can tell you are a good man Ray just from what you have written. Keep it up.

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Posted by Christrf on Sep 24 2006 8:27PM - JR,

Did you read my post carefully?

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Posted by Ray on Sep 24 2006 11:38PM - why does there need to be name calling. place your statement and be done. WE need to learn how to coexist with the lion. It wasn't put here just for the hell of it. It belongs here for a reason you have not been enlighted too. If it is killing your pets and children then get the @@@@ out of it's territory. We can not go on elimenating thiings that don't fiit into OUR habitat. We are the intruders. We need to learn how to fit into the environment. Who on Gods' green earth would put their children in harm by implanting themselves in a predators domain? I do not hug trees. I knnow that animals are God's gift to man and that we have a duty to co-exist. Stop taking all of our wild lifes' habitat for our own. I knnow my groceries don't come off a shelf. I can raise my own cow, pig and chicken and be happy to leave all you "ranchers" to yourselves.. You're all in it for the $ that the government will give you anyway. (that would be an offhanded way of calling names) Move to a town if you can''t handle living in the "wilds". I can't imagine any of you pantywaists living somewhere really wild. There are predators everywhere. ND is the least of your worries when it comes to "beasts" out there that might eat you. Not that it matters, but in parts of Africa a human gets eaten by a "real" lion every day. Live with it. Or move.

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Posted by Chris on Sep 25 2006 2:25PM - In Boulder, CO there are plenty of mountain lions and treehuggers and they seem to get along okay! I always figured people in ND would be less frightened of animals than people in Boulder, I guess I was wrong.

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Posted by Tracey on Sep 25 2006 6:52PM - Ray, You must not have any kids. I do not know when that Lion is coming through my yard. You truly must not have any common sense about animals. I think the best thing you could do for yourself is to go on a hiking or biking vacation at Big Sky in Montana or in Northern California! Just remember to be the last one of the group on the trail!! All the old-timers you talk to don't ever recall Mountain Lions existing in ND. This is NOT their natural habitat. I believe they are moving in because of the abnormal deer population we have thanks to our wonderful game and fish department, or they are being planted. But, if I ever get my scope on that kitty cat, I will save you some restless nights worrying about one less cat in ND because you will never know about it. I haven't heard anything about Mountain Lions being on the Endangered Species list and until I do, I am not going to worry about co-existing with them! Another thing, you should ask KXMC to add a spell checker to the comment box because you really need one!

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Posted by Russ on Sep 26 2006 10:48AM - What a great discussion! Quite a story has unfolded above! There's antagonists, protagonists, a struggle between good and evil, right and wrong. Thank you KX for providing this venue to observe and participate! I'd like to provide my brief opinion. I know Ken and his family. They are good people. For those of you casting stones - you might want to examine some choices in your own lives. Good people make mistakes. The difference The difference in morality comes in how you respond to those mistakes. Do you blame or make excuses? Or do you take responsibility? Charles, Rick, Robin, Mike, Ruth, and others - I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you all probably have made at least one bad decision in your life. . . probably even today. I'm also going to guess that in making those mistakes, you didn't have the courage or responsibility to admit your wrong-doing. When someone lashes out at another for doing the right thing, it usually means they regret not doing the right thing themselves. Ken made a mistake, yes, but I believe he deserves to be recognized for making a better decision afterwards by taking responsibility. As for his daughter shooting the cat - completely absurd. She was in the truck. Get the facts before you argue.

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Posted by Mike Guerin on Sep 27 2006 8:54PM - I don't know the man but I know there are very very few people that would turn thereself in when they don't have too. The man made a mistake. No doubt. Should have never pulled the trigger. Absolutely! Nobody is arguing those points. But to turn yourself in for a mistake is NOT something most people would do. I commend him for that.

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Posted by HE on Oct 2 2006 2:24PM - Unbelievable ! Hunting a Mountain lion here in Europe they will hunt you down for doing such a sick thing. Why ? For fun ? Come on

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Posted by Mike on Oct 11 2006 8:11PM - Noah was told by God to build an ark and put the animals in it so they could repopulate their respective species. Maybe God doesn't mean much to some of you selfish, hateful people. Don't be scared of a cougar. Dogs kill more people in 1 year than cougars have in the past 100 years. Fear the idiot with a gun as they kill many thousands a year.

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Posted by Ashley on Oct 15 2006 8:38PM - Listen up! How would you feel if someone came up with the idea that since we all have to die someday we should just go around and kill all humans? I mean we are all going to die someday right?Lions are living breathing creatures just like us and deserve as much right to live. And yes we will all die someday,but should die when God thinks its time not when stupid people like you think its time! What if i said we should go around killing dumb-ass idiots like you? I mean we are all going to die someday right???

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Posted by Tom on Oct 23 2006 1:03AM - North Dakota has such an insignificant population of mountain lions, why they have an experimental hunting season is beyond me. Most people I know from MN & ND would like to see the cougar repopulate into the area. I think there is less to fear from them than hunters who shoot without looking.

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Posted by Mel on Oct 24 2006 5:34PM - I'm from Minnesota soon to move to North Dakota...I'll go on the record that
I'm not one of those people that would like to see these cats re-populate or
be introduced into either state.
Check this web site for inforamtion in the US and Canada about
mountain lion/cougars attacks.
http://www.cougarinfo.org/attacks3.htm

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Posted by sm on Oct 29 2006 7:47PM - Well i would like to first state that the hunter is a trigger happy idiot but did do the right thing in the end. It should be said that many hunters are so excited that they have finally seen their prey that they may fire without a second thought as to the legality or consequence of their actions. This is probably especially true of mountain lions (very elusive). He may have only turned himself in because of the thought that someone else around was going to do it anyway which is hardly a reason to put him on some sort of pedestal. either way im glad he did cause it helped keep the conservation numbers accurate.
Aside from that i would like to throw in my opinion on what I have read here.
first and foremost i believe that all animals should be given respect and an adequate area to live and thrive in their natural habitat.

with that being said, I hate to see these gun toteting neanderthals who believe that cats are such a threat to humans that they must be eliminated. I mean come on. Ive read one of your posts that the concern for your children in your backyard is so intense that you wouldnt mind if they were all eliminated. heres a thought perhaps you could be watching them. But i guess that is too much considering this is america and we apparently have no responsibility as parents to know what are kids are doing. ofcourse youll probably say their too old to be watched, you cant watch them every second, or your too drunk to pay attention to whats going on. fine, then roll the dice my friend. you will eventually put a car in their hands, let them hump another human being, let them walk down a street, or even better, put a gun in their hands. All of which have an astronomical better chance to remove your children from your oh so quick to kill off the cougars precious life. so do us all a favor and quit whining about your precious children there is enough humans around (think america alone just hit 300 million), even more i think the world could use a few less that think and act like you do.
Cougars and other predators have their place in the environment. they protect other species from disease and other problems caused by not being preyed upon by a natural predator( humans dont count cause we never really know what were doing until we f something up repeatedly).
I do believe that mountain lions and all other animals should be allowed to be hunted if there is an abundant population and the department of fish and game can adequately control the resource( i dont have much faith in them their a business too).

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Posted by Steph on Jan 3 2007 6:46PM - Amazing......as a CO resident, and the owner of a plant nursery, I never considered killing all the deer and elk that wander through our property because they tore up a couple of our trees when in velvet or ate some of my plants. My neighboring farmers don't propose to slaughter all the deer because they eat an occasional ear of corn, or some of our alf alfa. I put up a fence around what was really impotant to keep them out (this would work for kids, you know). I live next to the Uncompaghre Plateau, and would love to see one of these beautiful animals (they have released some there). And I would hate it if it got hold of our mouser cat, or my neighbors dog or horse, and might understand the need to eliminate some cougars that wander into really densely populated areas, but geez, how many different things are you gonna kill to make your life easier?
A previous poster said it all....kill all the dogs, take away the cars, ban all the guns, lets get the boy next door too... guns and poisons and traps, all the ways we don't want to see our children die, is an acceptable methos of death for the dumber life forms.....and just because they are meat eaters too, or interfere with our "kinder, gentler" meat that we raise ( that's why we raise CATTLE you know, they don't fight back like a wild cat, or a bear).
You can't eliminate all the possibilities, but you can lessen them. I camp. I kayak. I backpack. We carry a gun when we do camp to protect ourselves (plenty of bears in the San Juan Range, and they love messy campers). Terry hunts. I eat elk and deer meat. I know where it comes from.
"Every thing in moderation, nothin to excess"...someday we will unwittingly make some thing go extinct that will unknowingly make us extinct...polar bears and ice caps, warming water and dying fish. Don't fool yourselves. It takes all of us to equal this world that we know. But only the human species has the intelligence and stupidity to end it all (the nuclear bomb) tomorrow, and that's scary.

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Posted by David Steber on Jul 18 2007 6:32PM - After reading Steph's comments above me I hate it for her cat and dog. If she thinks killing a predator that is attacking her pets is a bad thing that tells me she doesn't love her animals. Anything that attacks my dogs dies if I get the chance. I love my dogs, and protecting them is my job.
As for those who persecute the man who shot the small lion, he got his punishment so leave him alone. Every time you say you want him punished more you increase the odds that the next man who makes a mistake in the woods will walk away and tell no one. Be careful what you ask for...

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Posted by John Smith on Aug 4 2007 9:36PM - Sorry animal lovers, I find a large enough cat to attack me or my children in my yard it is dead,,, Dead,, Dead. In or out of season. My number one responsibility is to protect my family, and if that means a poor innocent Kitty has to die,, so be it.

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Posted by Ron on Oct 19 2007 6:55PM - Wow there are some idiots out there, guess nothing new to most. Our dog was killed last night by something that we are currently "guessing" was a Mountain Lion. My mother (75) and niece (5) were outside within a stones throw from there when it happened (dog was in the trees so could not see anything), they heard a bark then some sort of god-awful shriek. And some of you say you would do nothing if you saw that cat around your home, what an insanely ignorant no-minded position.

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