WYOMING — Wyoming Game and Fish (WGFD) officials were able to present a very special gift to students at a Lander-area school last week.
Gannett Peak Elementary received a taxidermied mountain lion, donated by WGFD and hung for display at the school in Lander. It’s so fitting because the elementary school’s mascot is a cougar but since the school opened in August 2013, they did not have one to show off. Until now.
Sometimes when Game and Fish biologists and wardens remove or confiscate animals, they can be preserved and used for education or display. This was the case a little over a year ago when this male lion was acquired. The Lander Game and Fish office applied for a grant to get the animal taxidermied for the elementary school to mount.
Leslie Voxland, Gannett Peak’s principal, kept the lion a surprise for teachers and students. Taxidermist Kim Lutz and others hung the lion after school on Tuesday, and students were thrilled to discover the majestic carnivore hung up in their lunchroom the following day.
On Friday, Large Carnivore Supervisor Dan Thompson visited the school and talked to the kindergarten through third grade students about mountain lion ecology and safety.
“It is always nice when we can find a use like this for animals that are lethally removed or confiscated. Elementary school kids now have a physical embodiment of their mascot,” Thompson said.
