A Missouri deer hunter lost his hunting rifle, $2,000, and a year’s worth of hunting privileges after illegally shooting a mountain lion from his treestand during the 2024-25 hunting season. The big cat he shot had traveled nearly 800 miles from Nebraska, wearing double ear tags that identified it as part of a research project on mountain lion movement.
Joseph Licklider, 29, shot the mountain lion while deer hunting in Iron County on November 16. Shortly after the kill, he called the local sheriff’s office for advice. “He shot a mountain lion while deer hunting and didn’t know what he needed to do with it,” according to court records.
Mountain lions are protected under Missouri law and can only be killed in self-defense or if they are attacking or killing pets or livestock. Licklider admitted he shot the cat on impulse because he got excited after it wandered under his treestand and began walking away from him down a logging road. Investigators said the animal’s wounds, evidence at the scene, and text messages, social media posts, and photos indicated the shooting was unjustified, according to court records.
Licklider’s wife, Kendra, posted trophy photos of the big cat’s body sprawled across the tailgate of a pick-up truck to two Facebook groups, MO Buck Hunters and “Women Who Shoot, Hunt, and Fish.” One photo shows another member of Licklider’s hunting party cuddling the cat’s head.
“The opening day of rifle season commenced with a smooth hunting experience. Sissy accompanied me and successfully harvested a six-pointer. Later, Joe Licklider joined me in the deer stand, where we encountered a mountain lion strolling beneath us. Joe swiftly grabbed his firearm and observed the mountain lion, poised to act when necessary. However, when the mountain lion glanced back, Joe refrained from shooting, fearing a potential threat. He shouted to deter it. My prayers were fervent in that deer stand,” Kendra wrote in a Facebook post that accompanied the photos.
Licklider pleaded guilty in May to killing wildlife illegally, a misdemeanor under Missouri law. He was fined $2,000, forfeited his Savage Axis .308 rifle, and lost his hunting license for one year.
The mountain lion had been part of an ongoing study by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Biologists had ear-tagged the animal as a 4-week-old kitten in 2023 near the Niobrara Valley Preserve. Its mother had been fitted with a GPS tracking collar.
“We never saw that kitten again,” Sam Wilson, manager of NGPC’s Furbearer and Carnivore Program, told 5 On Your Side. “The next time I got information about that cat was that it had been killed in Missouri.”
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Young male mountain lions often roam long distances in search of new territory, according to the NGPC. This cat’s 800-mile trek isn’t entirely unprecedented. Other Nebraska-tagged lions have turned up far from home, including one that walked 650 miles from the Oglala National Grasslands before being struck by a vehicle in Minneapolis.
Although there have been several confirmed mountain lion sightings in Missouri, there has been no evidence of reproducing pairs in the state, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
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