--- description: It was perfectly legal title: Mountain Lion Killed in Montana After 450-Mile Hike image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37875b815d38d520/69887912196cf48df8039dbd/mountain-lion.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Mountain Lion That Hiked 450 Miles From Canada to Montana Has Been Killed by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 14, 2016 12:42 PM CUT  Young cougar (captive), Montana, United States. Young cougar (captive), Montana, United States.Wolfgang Kaehler—LightRocket/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 14, 2016 12:42 PM CUT A female mountain lion that had traveled 450 miles from Canada to Montana has been [killed by a hunter](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/01/13/lion-trekked-miles-mont-killed-hunter/78756262/ "undefined"). The kill was perfectly legal, as the winter mountain lion [hunting season](http://time.com/709/americas-pest-problem-its-time-to-cull-the-herd/ "undefined") opens Dec. 1 in that state, where hunters kill between 400 and 500 lions out of a population of 3,500 to 4,000 each year, USA Today reports. This lion was unusual, however, in her voyage: most female mountain lions do not range far from their home, if at all. But Sandy, as the cat was named, wore a GPS collar fitted in British Columbia as part of a study of the species’ habits, so wildlife officials were able to track her every movement as she wandered 450 miles (about 300 as the crow flies), crossing into Montana in June. The hunter who killed her was not aware of her reputation. \[[USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/01/13/lion-trekked-miles-mont-killed-hunter/78756262/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4180343/mountain-lion-killed-hiked-450-miles-canada-montana/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4180343/mountain-lion-killed-hiked-450-miles-canada-montana/"},"headline":"A Mountain Lion That Hiked 450 Miles From Canada to Montana Has Been Killed","datePublished":"2016-01-14T12:42:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:07:35.995Z","description":"It was perfectly legal","url":"https://time.com/4180343/mountain-lion-killed-hiked-450-miles-canada-montana/","keywords":["animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37875b815d38d520/69887912196cf48df8039dbd/mountain-lion.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37875b815d38d520/69887912196cf48df8039dbd/mountain-lion.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Young cougar (captive), Montana, United States","caption":"Young cougar (captive), Montana, United States","creditText":"Wolfgang Kaehler—LightRocket/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4180343/mountain-lion-killed-hiked-450-miles-canada-montana/","name":"A Mountain Lion That Hiked 450 Miles From Canada to Montana Has Been Killed"}}]}] ```