A mountain lion has likely attacked four dogs in Boise in the last month. Early Tuesday morning a woman reported seeing an animal attack her two dogs in her east Boise back yard. She thought it was a bobcat. One of the dogs was later found dead. Idaho Fish and Game officers examined bite marks on the body and on the injured animal and determined they came from a young mountain lion.
Fish and Game officers found no further trace of the cat in the area. But going door to door they spoke to two of the woman’s neighbors who said their dogs have been attacked in the past few weeks. One of those dogs also died but neither incident was reported.
Evin O’Neale with Fish and Game says its essential people report attacks of this nature. He says the same mountain lion is probably responsible for all these incidents. It’s likely a juvenile on its own for the first time looking for water and food. But O’Neale says they don’t know if the cat is still in the area. Mountain lions frequently pass through Boise and surrounding communities along the river. Generally they go unnoticed but sometimes they attack pets or become habituated to eating trash. One year ago this week Fish and Game officers shot and killed a lion near the Boise State campus.
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