Remember the scene(s) in Cujo where the St. Bernard trapped the family in their car? That’s essentially what happened to a Montana family last weekend, except it was a brazen mountain lion and not a rabid dog that held them prisoner.
NBC Montana reports that a family in Whitefish, Montana, drove home Sunday night to find a cougar in their yard. They tried to wait it out, hoping it would move on if given time, but eventually they had to call 911 and request help when it wouldn’t leave the area.
Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial said the lion wasn’t aggressive toward the family but simply refused to leave the yard—even as crowds of humans gathered on the scene.
The police finally decided to shoot and kill the mountain lion, which was identified as an adult lioness. With no signs of fear toward humans, the cougar could have been a future threat to pets or small children in the area. Its body was given to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks for documentation.
This isn’t the first time such a shooting has occurred. The Missoulian said the lion was the third to be put down by Whitefish police in as many years, and a grizzly bear had to be chased away from a local yard just two weeks ago.