Photos of the cougar were then turned in to Idaho Fish and Game’s Southeast Regional Office in Pocatello by the conservation officer who inspected the cougar.
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The mountain lion with a second set of teeth on its head may always end up being a mystery to the world and biologists everywhere.
According to IFG officials, the lion had an unusual deformity on its head – fully formed teeth and small whiskers growing out of the left side of the lion’s forehead.
Jennifer Jackson, the regional conservation educator for Fish and Game, says it’s unknown why its deformed, but it’s possible there was a conjoined twin that died in the womb and absorbed into the other fetus.
The biologists and veterinarians said it could also be a teratoma, which is a rare tumor that can contain hair, teeth and bones.
Mountain lions are common, though rarely seen, in Idaho and can be legally hunted.
Conjoined animals are very rare in nature, but there have been instances of it among humans.
Lockyer told the State Journal that another possible theory could be that the lion suffered an injury to its jaw and it healed in an odd way. It was initially seen attacking a dog on the hunter’s rural property in Weston.
The hunter which killed the mountain lion had been planning to take the rare kill to a taxidermist.
Idaho Fish and Game officials said they couldn’t definitely explain what the abnormality was.
I showed the photo of the Mountain Lion that was shot on December 30 in the Weston area, to some outdoors enthusiasts, but many say they had already seen the pictures on social media.
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The mountain lion was killed at the end of the year. That means that they can only be pursued during set seasons in areas open to hunting with the appropriate license and tag.
