On November 11, at about 3:45 in the afternoon, Ben Karash shot a mountain lion that was stalking him in Buffalo County, Wisconsin. Karash was belted into his tree stand, hunting deer. He saw the lion coming closer from about 40 yards out. He shouted. He waved his arms. The lion knew he was there. The lion knew he was not a deer. The lion kept moving closer.
Have you ever watched a house cat stalk a bird? Mountain lions stalk their prey in a similar fashion.
I was able to talk to Tom Bilski, the District Attorney of Buffalo County. Tom was wonderfully open and transparent about what had happened. In recent years, people have thought the purpose of a prosecutor is to prosecute crimes. No. The purpose of a prosecutor is to see justice done. It is equally important to decide not to prosecute people as it is to prosecute them.
Tom said the local game warden, representing the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) asked him if he wished to prosecute the hunter who shot the lion. The local game warden, Bob Jumbeck, had investigated the incident after Ben Karasch called it in on the DNR hotline.
Karash had seen the big cat stalking him. It had come closer and closer, no matter what he did. He was in a vulnerable position, strapped to the tree, on his tree stand, with limited movement. As the cat neared the base of the tree, he drew his bow and fired an arrow into the upper body of the cat. The distance was later measured at 13 yards from him.
Tom Bilsky stated he was told the arrow passed completely through the body of the mountain lion, which was measured at 128 lbs. The mountain lion ran about 120 yards after being shot before it expired. It was discovered the next day by the investigative team from the DNR, accompanied by Ben Karash. This was the first mountain lion recorded as being shot in Wisconsin in 115 years. David Zeug wrote a good article about the incident.
Tom Bilsky, Barron County District Attorney, was asked by the DNR if he wanted to prosecute the hunter. Bilsky recalled this from his conversation with Warden Jumbeck.
This cougar was stalking the hunter. The cougar knew he was in the tree. The hunter yelled at the cougar to go away. The cougar kept on coming to the tree stand. Now logic would suggest that the cougar was coming to the tree stand to kill him.Â
When the game warden told me, when Bob Jumbeck told me, what had happened, my first thoughts are we should be putting a medal on this person, not worrying about charging him.Â
In my opinion this cougar would have killed somebody.
The District Attorney asked Warden Jumbeck: Did Jumbeck want to charge the hunter who killed the lion? Jumbek said no. In the investigation, all the physical evidence confirmed what had been said by the hunter.
Tom said he had been contacted by someone who wanted the hunter prosecuted. The person demanded information Tom did not have. Tom told them to contact the DNR for the information they sought.
Tom told the person he might have a different opinion if he saw the mountain lion stalking him. If he saw the lion kept getting closer and closer, and the lion would not be deterred by yelling and arm waving, he might think differently.
The District Attorney said if a person would not shoot the mountain lion under those circumstances, he was “dumber than a box of rocks.”
Tom Bilski is the sort of level-headed district attorney this correspondent wants to see in office nationwide. Human access to and expertise with weapons are what keep more humans from becoming the prey of large predators.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Sounds like a great District Attorney! Imagine, actually looking at things from the point of “right and wrong” and whether or not prosecution is just, rather than “can I win this case, or not”.
Yes, it’s great that this prosecuter has the right view of justice. However, George Soros paid to have a bunch of prosecuters elected that have an upside-down moral compass.Their view of right and wrong is not the same as ours. Their twisted way of thinking is destroying this country.
Agreed!
DA may have also considered whether he could win the case. In any rural area with numerous hunters, potential jurors are more likely to see this as self defense. If DA thinks jury would rule appropriately, he thinks he could not win.
I’d guess he also considered electoral consequences. Even if he could pick a less logical jury, case would be in the news and would reflect poorly on him with those with a modicum of knowledge about wild life.
In many other parts of the country this very reasonable action would be prosecuted for several reasons: 1. hunters are malicious by their nature; 2. animals have the same “rights” as humans; 3. this evil hunter deprived the poor cougar of its rightful meal; the hunter had “invaded” the cougar’s home.
Of course any of us here (with one or two exceptions) know the insanity associated with the arguments put forth above. Personally, I am gratified to discover there remains at least one DA with a modicum of sense.
Dean, thanks for a very good and uplifting piece of writing.
I live in northern WI, less than 5 miles from the Nicolet National Forest. I hunt deer, bear, coyotes, grouse, waterfowl, & turkey in it. I have seen numerous wolves in person (saw 3 just last week during deer season) but never have I seen a cougar… in person. But I do have trail camera pictures of them around some of our bear bait sites. My daughter owns 65 acres in the U.P. of MI, 30 miles north of me, and her land is surrounded by the Ottawa National Forest. She has trail camera pictures of them too. While they’re… Read more »
How frequent are the wolves there?
Texas bowhunters I’ve spoken too (small sample) carry pistol when hunting hogs. If follow up shot is needed, bow is simply too slow. Even if arrow has better penetration and does more damage, volume of fire matters. Standard capacity magazine allows for some/several misses while still supporting sufficient hits to stop most animals.
Hogs are dangerous, but no comparison to bears, wolves or cougars. Won’t catch me wandering through predator country without some effective defensive weapon. Be it bear country, wolf country, or even thug country.
I’m glad large wild animals like deer, bears, and mountain lions can still thrive near populated areas, but cougars definitely can be a deadly threat. I live in central Oklahoma near a major university, and I’ve seen 2 cougars. One crossed a street frequented by jogging students, and one stared at me while I sat in a tree stand. I was 13 feet off the ground, but cougars can jump 18 feet vertically from a sitting position. It’s wise to consider, when hunting, that you’re not the only predator in the woods.
Eighteen feet vertically? Wow…. seems hunter should not have waited until lion was at base of tree. Shooting it in the air would be far more difficult and even a hit would not stop the lion from hitting his prey. If it could run 120 yards after arrow passed through the lion – shot mid leap would probably not save life of the hunter.
People in that area of Wisconsin are hard working, regular people from farm families a generation ago, who all hunt deer. It’s the best deer hunting in the state. They know what the purpose of a weapon is, they know how to use them, and what will happen to whatever you use the weapon on. And they are not poachers. If a guy uses a weapon, it needed to be used. It sounds like the prosecutor is like the people there, down to earth and absolutely absent of pretentiousness. Such grounded people usually don’t fall for the political manipulations such… Read more »
3Ss
Shoot Shovel Shutup
Shoot. Leave quickly.
Why tell anyone anything?
The programming of folks to tell on themselves is astounding. Not my job to tell you I did something that you might wanna charge me for. You wanna charge me then figure out what I did without my help
Depends on likelihood of anyone finding out. Case like this with clearcut self-defense in reasonable jurisdiction reporting is relatively safe. If you don’t report and it is discovered and tracked back to you – you will look guilty. If you are found after practicing SSS (shoot-shovel-shutup) then conviction becomes almost certain.
Consider circumstances and lay your bet. Life is uncertain…. heck, might get eaten by a bear on way to report yourself for shooting that lion :(.