LANDER - A hunter from Big Horn County who allegedly shot and killed three cougar kittens has been charged with three separate counts of poaching, and he faces potential fines of up to $10,000 per violation.

Demar Dusty Hill, a Greybull physician, was cited by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for allegedly killing one male and two female lion kittens on Jan. 5, on the western slope of the Big Horn Mountains near Shell.

If found guilty, Hill could be ordered to pay restitution to the state of Wyoming for the loss of the three animals. Each charge also carries the possibility of up to one year in jail, and the possible revocation of his hunting and fishing privileges.

Hill pleaded not guilty at a Jan. 30 arraignment, and is scheduled to have a pretrial conference on Feb. 27, in the Big Horn County Circuit Court.

Greybull Game Warden Bill Robertson, who issued the citations, said the three kittens likely came from the same litter or family group, and all three were less than one year old.

"In this case the subject came across a family, which is fairly uncommon, and chose to shoot them instead of watch them, which he should have done," Robertson said. "For most folks, it would have been a thrill to watch a group of cats like that."

After shooting the kittens, Hill allegedly took the male from the field and left the two females, Robertson said. At the time of the kill, Hill did not have a license to harvest a mountain lion; he purchased a license after the fact, Robertson said.

Regardless, the lack of a license in this case is immaterial, because it is illegal to kill mountain lions that are less than a year old, with or without a license, the game warden said.

Also, a mountain lion hunting license only allows for the harvesting of one adult cougar, making multiple kills also illegal.

A bird hunter found the other two kittens' carcasses the day after the poaching incident, and reported it to Game and Fish.

By law, a licensed hunter must present a mountain lion to the Game and Fish Department within three days of the kill. After purchasing his license, Hill took the male kitten to the Game and Fish Department on Jan. 8 and presented it as a legal harvest from a site different from the one where the poaching actually took place, Robertson said.

"I don't believe the subject even knew that these were kittens," Robertson said. "He didn't understand the resource. Most people never see lions in the wild. While I cannot condone it at all, what he did - it's an egregious act - I think it sends a message that people don't understand wildlife. Here's a person who's a known sportsmen, not a known violator, but he didn't understand the situation he was in."

Hunters killing cougar kittens is a rare event, Robertson said, and he hopes it stays that way.

The Casper Star-Tribune left messages for the doctor at his medical practice and at his home Thursday and Friday, but he was unavailable for comment. One family member said Hill would like to air his side of the story, but he will likely have to wait until the legal process is completed.

Hill's attorney, Scott Kath of Powell, was also unavailable for comment Friday.

The Game and Fish Department doesn't yet know the fate of the kittens' mother. In an interview with the game warden, Hill told Robertson he didn't see another cougar in the area, and investigators at the site of the poaching were unable to determine if there was an adult nearby.

There was a legal kill of an adult female in the same general vicinity in December, Robertson said, but he is still waiting for results from the Game and Fish lab to determine whether or not the harvested lion had genetic ties to the kittens.

The Game and Fish Department regulates lion hunting seasons by region, and by the number of animals killed on an annual basis. When people take mountain lions illegally, those kills are subtracted from the season's quota, Robertson said.

The western slope of the Big Horn Mountains will reach its quota this year if eight more cougars are killed.

It's impossible to know what the long-term impacts of the loss of the three kittens will be, Robertson said, but the females could have grown up to have their own litters, and the male, had he survived, would probably have journeyed perhaps several hundred miles away after becoming an adult.

"They weren't dangerous. Just a family of young kittens trying to find a rabbit," Robertson said.

Environment reporter Chris Merrill can be reached at chris.merrill@trib.com.