Cougar-Killing Wildlife Official Loses Post

A California Fish and Game commissioner who shot and killed a cougar will soon be hunting for a new post. Daniel W. Richards was voted out of his position as president today, seven months after he slew a mountain lion on a hunting trip and ignited a serious backlash. Richards snuffed out the animal in Idaho, where it is legal, but hunting mountain lions has long been illegal in California, reports the Los Angeles Times.

It didn't help Richards' popularity when soon after the January outing, photos surfaced on the Internet of him grinning and holding up the dead cougar. In March, dozens of state legislators asked for his resignation, and the state ethics agency accused of him violating the gift limit by going on the $6,800 jaunt. Richards refused to resign, and he says he will remain on the commission until his term ends in January. (More Daniel W. Richards stories.)