ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — State officials are letting a New Mexico man take a road kill mountain lion to a taxidermist.

KOB-TV in Albuquerque reports New Mexico Game and Fish Department recently gave the OK for Arcy Vigil to keep the big cat after he found it dead along Interstate 25 in northern New Mexico.

State officials took the cat after he called to report it. Officials say the cat appeared had died from injuries from a vehicle.

New Mexico law prohibits residents from picking up a trophy animal without reporting to authorities first.

Vigil says after getting the cat back he took it to a taxidermist and will likely put it on a full mount.

Information from: KOB-TV, http://www.kob.com