Man Confesses to Mountain Lion Killing in Missouri

There are no happy endings in the story of the mountain lion that was killed in Missouri, but there is now some closure to the case as the hunter responsible has confessed that he took the animal's life illegally.

You might recall that it was late last year when I shared the sad news of a mountain lion meeting its end in Missouri. At that time, Joseph Licklider of Desloge, Missouri claimed he had killed a mountain lion in self-defense in Iron County. After an investigation, it was decided that the mountain lion was shot while moving away from Licklider's position. Now, there is resolution in that incident.

I saw today that KSDK in St. Louis is reporting that Joseph Licklider pled guilty to the charge of illegally killing the mountain lion. According to the court document, a plea agreement led to the following judgement along with his guilty plea:

• He will be fined $2,000
• His rifle will be returned to him
• He agrees to points being put against his hunter's license and it is suspended for one year

The Missouri Department of Conservation says that mountain lions are not native to the state, but lone big cats do travel across Missouri on occasion. KSDK reported that the mountain lion that Licklider killed was ear-tagged by conservationists in Nebraska as a kitten back in 2023 which means it traveled over 800 miles before its life was taken in the incident.