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Cougar cam in western Wisconsin
A mountain lion was recorded on a trail camera on Saturday night in Dunn County in western Wisconsin. Wisconsin DNR reported that tracks and a deer kill were found nearby. The last time evidence of a cougar this far east in the Midwest the feline was shot dead in a Chicago neighborhood.
This cat could be the same one that was spotted in Stillwater, Minnesota on December 11. Cougar tracks were found by a farmer soon after in Spring Valley 25 miles east and a DNR biologist tracked a cougar on Friday for more than a mile along the Eau Galle River. The next day the camera picked it up on film in Dunn County.
If this is the same cougar it appears the cat is moving east about 5-7 miles a day. It is unclear if the mountain lion will settle somewhere or keep moving. The last time a cougar moved into this territory it kept moving east until it reached its sad demise in Chicago. The DNR does not plan to trap the animal, but would like to tranquilize and then monitor it.
The first confirmed cougar in Wisconsin in a century was detected in January of 2008 in Milton, Wisconsin. On January 4 a motorist observed a cougar running in front of his car. Then, on January 18 a trapper was investigated large tracks that led into an old barn. The trapper spooked the cougar out from the second floor. The lion cut its foot on the subsequent jump and from the blood left the DNR determined it was indeed a mountain lion. This turned out to be the same cougar that ended up shot dead by Chicago policeman in a Roscoe Village neighborhood in northwest Chicago on April 14, 2008.
This mountain lion was found to have the same genetic make-up as the cougars in South Dakota, which makes sense as this is the closest area with a substantial wild mountain lion population. There are over 250 cougars in the Black Hills population. What is most likely happening is that the population in this area has become so successful that it has become saturated. Cougars have a wide range and do not overlap with fellow males, so there are only so many cougars that can stay in one area.
Young males will fan out from their home in search of new territory. A Black Hills cougar study found some animals will travel up to 650 miles in search of new territory. Usually the cougars in this area will migrate to other nearby states that already have cougar populations, but possibly these areas are now becoming dense as well, so this could explain the recent move by some cats into fresh cougar territory in the Midwest.
Crime scene from Chicago cougar kill in April of 2008
If the mountain lion continue its 5-7 miles a day pace eastward this means it will make Chicago in about 50 days. I would not like to tussle with a cougar, but somehow the knowledge that there is an animal out there that could kill you makes the outdoors a little more adventurous. The likelihood of this happening is very remote especially with such a large deer population to choose from. This time let us hope this cougar decides to stay and sustain a range in Wisconsin before it moves into an urban area and meets another bad end.
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Comments
I can't imagine coming in contact with a cougar up-close. They are beautiful creatures but not in my backyard, please!
I hate to hear that a mountain lion was shot dead but I also don't want any humans to be hurt.
Nor would we want to see dogs get killed. The encouraging aspect about a reintroduction of the cougar into the Midwest is the over population of deer. Cougars would take care of that problem real quick.
Wisconsin DNR is NOT telling the truth when claiming this cougar sighting to be 1st in 100 years to be found this far east, except for cougar killed in Chicago.
Since 1970, the (Eastern Puma Research Network) is aware of 9 documented reports of cougars in Wisconsin's Adams, Grant, Lincoln, Oneida, Shawano & Washburn Counties. Northern Wisconsin & Michigan's Upper Peninsula has had small population of WILD, NATIVE Cougars for centuries.
John,
It was not the DNR that said that, but me, and I took that from another news source. The DNA sampling from the cougar in Milton was the first confirmation that I am aware of. I believe the instances that you are referring to are just sightings with no photographs. Since the Milton cougar a cougar was photographed in a tree in Spooner, Wisconsin.
It would not surprise me that cougars are in northern Wisconsin, but according to the DNR there are no known breeding cougars in the state.
Upper Penninsula of Michigan does not really concern me (at least as far as this article is concerned)because it is too far from Chicago. I did not do any research in regards to this article about cougars in the UP.
Thank you for reading, commenting, and bringing this information to my attention. If you have any other information you would like to share with me or my readers please feel free to comment further or email me with information showing there is a breeding population in Wi
walk softly and carry a very big stick Ted!
This is so exciting. I'm rooting for the cougar, of course, though I wouldn't want to meet up with it. There have been several cougar attacks in San Diego County. I believe that one case involved a small child, and there was another incident of a woman riding a mountain bike on a trail through a County park, that had warning signs posted for mountain lions. She was riding behind her friend, which a cougar leaped out of the brush, and jumped on her, knocking her off her bike. Two men on bikes behind saw what was happening and threw rocks at the animal, finally driving it away. The woman survived, but unfortunately, the cat was later tracked and shot. Once, when I was camping on a sand bar on the Colorado River, in the Grand Canyon, I got up at night and my flashlight beam reflected back two pair of ayes, going through the remains of our dinner. They were cougars, but they vanished into the darkness. I love cougars. They're beautiful. Great story. Happy Holidays!
COOL! :)
Leaving on a jet plane....
Lon,
A jet plane would definitely increase the speed of a cougar's advance on Chicago. However, I doubt they could clear security unless it is a Courtney Cox type of cougar.
Americans live such insulated lives, we see ourselves as spectators rather than participants. When did we decide to no longer be in the food chain other than to be prey?
I'm with Joel, I find myself kind of routing for the cougar! Though, I must admit, I don't really want to meet one face to face. We spent 4 days in Mammoth, CA last week and woke up two mornings to find VERY large cat-tracks on the roof of the cabin next to ours. We are thinking either small cougar, or large lynx. Either way, I would have loved a nice safe-on the other side-of the glass sighting, but must admit, I'm awfully glad no wild cats jumped out of trees to join our snowball fight.
Interesting piece, Ted. I wish the cougar all the luck.
Cheers..
Yowzers! They recently changed the sign at one of the places we hike to show a mountain lion's size in comparison to a bobcat and an SUV-type car. Those bad boys are A LOT bigger than I thought! I hope no persons -- or animals -- get hurt.
So sad that seeing a cougar is a rare event. Shows how much wildlife is really still alive in America.
Don't walk softly! Make lots of noise. Just like with bears, if you make your presence known, they most often will disappear into the wild, not keep heading into the city.
When i worked in the SF Bay area there was a known mountain lion in a national park, less than 5 miles from the city. Park rangers kept it a secret, put food high in the hills during the lean times and nobody (human or cougar) got hurt.
Just saw your tweet about this article that you wrote back in December! Interesting... I love big cats... (OK, I like small ones, too) and so gravitate to stories about them. I guess this one never made it to Chicago! We have big cats that make it into suburban neighborhoods here in the Dallas area, too. I think it would be exciting to see one, but then I know it's not good that they are running out of natural territory.
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