Jack Russell trees mountain lion in South Dakota

[November 13, 2010]  COLMAN, S.D. (AP) -- A 150-pound mountain lion was no match for a squirrel-chasing terrier on a farm in eastern South Dakota. Jack the Jack Russell weighs only 17 pounds, and yet he managed to trap the cougar up a tree on Tuesday.

Jack's owner, Chad Strenge, told The Argus Leader that the dog "trees cats all the time," and that the plucky terrier probably "figured it was just a cat."

Professor Jonathan Jenks, who tracks cougar migration patterns, says hunters usually need two or three hounds to chase a lion up a tree. He says the cat probably wasn't hungry enough to attack Jack.

Strenge used a shotgun to knock the mountain lion from the tree and -- assisted by Jack -- chased and fatally shot it.

Arden Petersen, of the wildlife division of Game, Fish and Parks, told The Madison Daily Leader that no charges will be filed.

[Associated Press]

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