The 4-week application period for Nebraska’s first mountain lion hunting permits opens today and runs through the end of the month. 101 permits will be claimed by Nebraska residents through a lottery and one permit will be sold through an auction open to both residents and non-residents.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission this summer approved the state’s hunting season for the big    cats, setting up a split calendar of two 6-week seasons…Jan 1-Feb 14 and Feb 15-March 31..in the Pine Ridge Unit.

There is a bag limit of 2 lions in each season, and each will end early if its first animal taken is a female. The first person drawn from applications for the Pine Ridge Unit will be issued a permit good for either season. The next 100 persons drawn will be issued permits for Season 2.

Nebraska’s only confirmed resident population of mountain lions is in the Pine Ridge, but lone males occasionally pass through other parts of the state and there is an unlimited bag limit outside the Pine Ridge.

Permits are required outside the Pine Ridge, but the total is unlimited with hunters required only to get one at least 24 hours in advance. Applications for all mountain lion permits may be made at Nebraska Game and Parks permitting offices or online at OutdoorNebraska.org.