RAPID CITY, S.D., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A South Dakota family shared video of an unexpected temporary tenant in their fox trap -- a displeased mountain lion.

Justin Casey, whose husband, Dan Casey, discovered the mountain lion in the fox trap set by the couple's sons, Hunter, 10, and Carson, 9, she wasn't too worried when her husband told her he planned to release the animal from the trap in the Black Hills National Forest, near Rapid City.


"I guess I just trust him, and I thought, 'OK, I guess he's going to let it out, and that's what's going to happen today,'" Justin Casey told the Rapid City Journal of the moment her husband announced he was going to free the predator.

The video shows the mountain lion take a few unsuccessful swipes at Dan Casey as he attempts to open the cage. However, once the cage is opened, the lion shows more interest in fleeing than taking revenge against the temporary captor.

Officials with the state Department of Game, Fish & Parks said Casey did the right thing releasing the mountain lion. The animals are currently in season for hunters, but it is illegal to trap them in South Dakota.