Jacob Vibbert, of Cheney, Washington, has been charged with illegally killing a mountain lion on the south end of Wrangell Island.
According to the state’s report, Vibbert shot the mountain lion on June 3, 2024. There is no mountain lion hunting season in Alaska.
The offense, a misdemeanor, can be punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $25,000.
Vibbert was charged in January; his arraignment was scheduled for March 4 at the Wrangell courthouse.
The kill was reported by Charles Davis, who was hunting and sport fishing with Vibbert around the time he shot the mountain lion. Davis informed Frank Robbins, an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist in Petersburg, that Vibbert had shot the mountain lion the previous day and was wondering about the legality of keeping the animal.
Later that day, State Wildlife Trooper Josh Spann, out of Petersburg, questioned Vibbert about the reported killing.
Vibbert admitted to shooting the animal from around 50 to 70 yards away, and described the animal as “perched up, holding its ground and not fleeing or backtracking.”
He told Spann it was a clean and ethical one-shot kill. But when the trooper asked Vibbert what the deciding factor was to shoot the animal, Vibbert said he didn’t know, adding, “that was a great question.”
Under Alaska law, a person is only permitted to kill an animal in such instances if “all other practicable means to protect life and property are exhausted before the game is taken.”
When Spann asked Vibbert if he took any action to try to scare the mountain lion away — like firing a warning shot — Spann admitted that he had not. According to the state’s report, “Vibbert responded that based on his knowledge of big cats, if you take any action to try and scare them off, the animal will go into the woods and then you are in danger.”
Troopers X-rayed the animal to confirm Vibbert’s story. According to the state’s report, “the back half of the animal … had signs of bullet fragments and broken bone.”
Vibbert owns JC Steel Targets, a company that sells shooting targets for recreational and competitive firearms use. He is an accomplished sharpshooter who competes in the Precision Rifle Series and National Rifle League.
The mountain lion was the first reported sighting of the species in Southeast Alaska since 1998, an Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation staffer in Juneau said last year.
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