Black Hills area wildlife officials killed three mountain lions on Friday, all near homes in Newcastle, Spearfish and west of Rapid City.

Two males lions had killed pets, and a female had ventured too close to a residence in the Painted Hills subdivision near Newcastle.

Wyoming Game and Fish and Department game warden Dustin Shorma said the year-old female mountain lion was hiding in the brush, apparently relaxing in the shade in a backyard Friday morning. The animal was not acting aggressively and allowed the homeowner to come within 10 yards.

Shorma said he decided to kill the lion because of the danger it posed by being so close to humans.

He said he suspects that Newcastle's resident herd of mule deer attracted the lion to the area.

House cats attracted a 1- to 2-year-old male mountain lion to a home on the outskirts of Spearfish. South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department regional supervisor Mike Kintigh said the lion killed the cats Thursday and had partially buried them for eating later. Officials placed foot traps at the carcasses and waited for the lion's return. Kintigh said the traps worked, and the department's John Kanta shot the lion early Friday.

Meanwhile, residents off Nemo Road found near its pen the buried remains of a miniature horse that had been missing for a few days. A dog team, led by hounds man John Alexander, tracked the 3- to 4-year-old male lion, where it was killed after being chasing up a tree nearby.

Kintigh could not say if three troublemaker mountain lions in a day was unusual. "We had gone a month without what I would call a serious case … involving a problem lion."