As Cougar Sightings Continue in Oklahoma, Lawmakers Are Moving to Set a Hunting Season
Opponents to the proposal say they are against it because Oklahoma doesn't have enough lions to sustain a hunting season. Senator Murdock, meanwhile, has made it clear that establishing a hunting season and laying the groundwork for one are two separate things.
'It's important to clarify that this bill does not establish a mountain lion hunting season,' Murdock tells Outdoor Life. 'Instead, it specifies that if the Department of Wildlife decides to implement a mountain lion season in the future — something that is already allowed under existing law — participation will be determined through a raffle system.'
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has not signaled any intentions of reestablishing mountain lion hunting, which has been outlawed in the state for nearly 70 years. By the agency's own admission, there is not currently a 'viable population' of mountain lions in Oklahoma. The ODWC did not respond to a request for comment from Outdoor Life to say whether or not the agency was considering or entertaining the idea of a hunt.
The ODWC listed mountain lions as a game species with a closed season in 1957. Although the big cats are protected in the state, Oklahomans can legally kill them to protect themselves or domesticated animals.
Senator Murdock, who commented on the bill Tuesday, has not yet responded to follow-up questions from Outdoor Life about why he and other lawmakers are opening the door to a lion hunt at this time. Murdock said in a past hearing on the bill that it would be an opportunity to increase tourism in the state, according to the Kansas City Star.
Although mountain lions are sometimes spotted in Oklahoma, the ODWC says 'we have far fewer than rumors would lead you to believe.' There have been 81 confirmed mountain lion sightings in Oklahoma since 2002. And because the animals are so reclusive, it's hard to estimate how many are in the state at any one time.
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Wildlife experts believe that the lions seen in Oklahoma are mostly transient animals rather than full-time Sooner residents. Transient mountain lions are typically young individuals without an established territory.
There is also no physical evidence, after years of research, of a breeding population of mountain lions in Oklahoma, according to the ODWC. If there were breeding cats, the agency says it would have seen proof in the form of numerous tracks, scrapes and scent-marks, or road-killed lions of different age classes. Without this evidence, biologists believe that Oklahoma's lions are wandering individuals coming from Colorado, New Mexico, and other nearby states.
'We know from some of the samples we have been able to collect from mountain lion carcasses we found over the last two decades, they're from Colorado, they are from South Dakota, from Nebraska,' ODWC wildlife biologist Jerrod Davis told The Oklahoman in 2021. 'They are traveling quite a long way trying to find an area that is suitable for them to set up a home range.
'They are not a viable local population,' Davis added.
Murdock says he prefers a raffle approach over an auction for any future mountain lion tags, because he believes the latter favors individuals with deep pockets while excluding everyday hunters.
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'By utilizing a raffle, we ensure that the average person has a fair chance to participate in the hunting season, promoting inclusivity and accessibility,' Murdock says. 'This method democratizes the opportunity among hunters, allowing everyone to have a stake in wildlife management.'
Murdock also introduced a similar bill in 2021. SB 769 would have authorized Oklahoma's Wildlife Conservation Commission to 'declare an open season on mountain lions and bears,' and it would have established a lottery system with a bag limit of 5 lions. The bill quickly passed the Senate Agriculture and Wildlife Committee, but failed to advance any further in the legislature.
Murdock says he is confident that his latest bill will make it all the way through the legislative process.
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