The Mountain Lion Identification Program is a voluntary training program available to anyone who is interested in mountain lion ecology and/or who wants to hunt mountain lions.

The course:

• presents information about mountain lion biology;
• explains how to determine the gender of a mountain lion; and
• presents some of Montana’s laws and regulations pertaining to mountain lion hunting.

FWP is asking hunters, guides, outfitters, and houndsmen to take the time to determine the gender of the mountain lion before harvesting it. Gender identification helps:

• reduce unwanted female lion mortality;
• reduce lion kitten mortality associated with orphaning;
• increase hunter satisfaction, and;
• meet management objectives.

The program consists of a training (tutorial) and a testing (exam) portion; both are available online. A paper test is not available at this point, though you may print the tutorial on your own at any time. Before taking the exam (by clicking the button at the bottom of this page), please be sure you have reviewed the tutorial (by accessing .pdf file also at the bottom of the page).

How to take the exam

The exam consists of 25 questions. If you correctly answer 20 questions (80%) then you may print a certificate of completion.

• To answer a question, click the radio button next to your choice
  
  then advance to the next screen
  
  You can change your answer while on a question screen, but not after you have advanced to the next screen.
• You cannot go to a previous screen using 'right-click', and you cannot use the browser 'back' button to go to a previous screen.
• When you reach the Certificate of Completion screen, at the end of the exam, follow the printing instructions. If you make a mistake in printing you may have to re-take the exam to print your certificate.
• If you are interested in keeping a completion record on file you may do so by submitting this information to FWP's license database (ALS).
  We recommend you do this since there’s no other way for FWP to retrieve your record. To submit your information to ALS you must have an ALS number. If you don't have an ALS number currently, you may get one by visiting your nearest FWP office. You don't need to make a purchase to get an ALS number. If you are a nonresident living outside of Montana, the only way to obtain an ALS number is through a license purchase via our online service.
• The exam works best on the following browsers (see System Requirements page for links to download and install each browser):
  • Internet Explorer (7.0 and above)
  • Firefox, and
  • Safari.
  We cannot ensure it will run on any others. If you experience any technical problems, please contact us.

Let's get started

The Mountain Lion Identification Course is a modification of the course and exam developed originally by Colorado Division of Wildlife. FWP would like to thank the Colorado Division of Wildlife for developing this course and sharing it with Montana.