Wisconsin lion?

[Emily]

http://gazettextra.com/news/2008/jan/22 ... ed-milton/

Big cat spotted in Milton
By MARCIA NELESEN ( Contact ) Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008
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WCLO's Stan Stricker reports on hunt for Cougar in Milton area
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In this photo taken from www.cougarnet.org a tracing of a jaguar print is taken. There are reports of cougar sighting in Milton. The last confirmed sighting of a cougar in Wisconsin was in 1908.
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Kevin Edwardson
MILTON — “It isn’t every day you track a cougar in Rock County,” said Milton resident Kevin Edwardson.

On Friday, Edwardson followed what he was almost certain were cougar prints into his buddy’s haymow when the tawny-colored cat jumped up from behind a mound of hay and rushed toward him.

It was awesome seeing the big cat, Edwardson said.

Randy Hookstead, the barn’s owner, had seen the tracks at about 5 a.m. that morning at 8911 Bowers Lake Road. He had to leave for a trip up north, so he called Edwardson, who lives nearby and is also a trapper, to come over and check them out. He knew nobody would believe him.

Cougars live out West, and a Department of Natural Resources biologist said one here would be rare indeed.

Edwardson had heard reports of others seeing a cougar in the area, but finally here was a paw track, captured in the snow.

They were wider than Edwardson’s hand.

“And I’m a pretty good-sized guy,” he said.

The prints came across a nearby field straight to Hookstead’s barn and up into the haymow. Edwardson figured the animal had been there before. He circled the barn and didn’t see any tracks coming out, so he headed up into the mow.

He moved toward the center of the haymow and threw a rock against the wall.

The cougar jumped up from where it had bedded down behind a mound of hay and ran to within 15 feet of Edwardson. Then, it turned broadside and jumped through an opening in the wall, dropping gracefully at least 10 feet to the ground.

It didn’t stumble or roll and sped away taking huge strides, Edwardson said.

He figures it was about 6 feet long stretched out.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Edwardson said. “I wasn’t scared. I was in awe, seeing something like that out here.”

Edwardson’s wife, Dorrie, still can’t believe her husband went up into the haymow with little more than two rocks to face a mountain lion, he said with a laugh.

But Edwardson figures the cat would rather get away from people than attack them.

It probably was thinking, ‘Somebody had to come and spoil my day,’” he said.

Doug Fendry, a biologist and wildlife supervisor with the Department of Natural Resources, said a cougar here would be rare. He analyzed the tracks but is having the identity verified by another biologist.

“We really don’t have a cougar expert in Wisconsin,” he said.

DNR staff that tracked the animal for about two miles on Friday also gathered urine and blood samples. The animal appeared to be bleeding from its paw.

Also, the DNR doesn’t know whether the cougar is truly a wild animal or one that either escaped or was released from captivity. An analysis of the DNA could be compared to the wild cougar population, Fendry said.

“My phone has been ringing off the hook from people reporting seeing (the cougar) all the way into Jefferson County,” he said.

His first report came Jan. 5, when someone reported seeing one cross Highway 26 near Highway N.

Fendry keeps a folder of reported cougar sightings but never has been able to confirm them. He figures this animal has been around since at least summer and has survived on the plentiful deer population.

Cougars generally live in the western part of the country. The closest they live and thrive is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Fendry said. But they have been confirmed in Minnesota, Iowa and western Illinois.

Once the DNR gets confirmation that the animal is a cougar, staff will decide the next step.

One option is to let it be.

People don’t have reason to fear, Fendry said. Cougars are relatively common but reports of them attacking people are rare.

He advises that people not corner the animal if they find it in an outbuilding, for instance.

The animal in the barn, “just wanted to get out of there,” he said.

Now, the tracks around the barn aren’t cougar—they’re human, Fendry said.

“Everybody in the neighborhood (checking) it out,” he added. “I suspect it’s not going to come back to that barn for quite some time.”

[Emily]

http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/breaking_news/268655

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Wild cougar in Rock County?
Bill Novak — 1/22/2008 1:54 pm
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is looking into reports of a wild cougar being spotted northeast of the city of Milton in Rock County.
The last known wild North American cougar, also called a mountain lion or puma, disappeared from Wisconsin about 100 years ago, even though there have been undocumented reports of cougar sightings since then.
DNR warden Boyd Richter, warden supervisor Jeremy Plautz and wildlife supervisor Doug Fendry photographed the animal's tracks and were also able to collect blood and urine samples from the area, which will be submitted for genetic analysis to confirm if the animal is a North American cougar.
"We've been getting reports of cougar observations in northeast Rock County and adjacent Jefferson County over the past couple of months," Fendry said.
The tracks are "consistent" with that of the cougar, said DNR mammal ecologist Adrian Wydeven.
DNR staff will be checking roadways, pastures, marshes and wild lands over the next few days looking for signs of the cougar.
The search will be in the towns of Milton and Lima in Rock County, especially near Storr's Lake and the Lima Marsh wildlife area. The cougar apparently was last seen near the Storr's Lake wildlife area.
If anyone sees what might be a large cat in northeast Rock County or southern Jefferson County, call Fendry at 608-275-3230.
"If possible, take digital photos of the animal and the tracks of the animal, and a tape measure to show the size of the track," Fendry said. "Record the time and exact location of the observation."
The DNR assumes the animal is a wild cougar until shown evidence to the contrary.
"The department will continue to monitor reports and if the opportunity presents itself, we would then consider capturing or radio collaring the animal, or removing it from the wild if evidence indicates it's of captive origin," Wydeven said.
Cougars are listed as "protected wild animals" in Wisconsin, which means a permit woudl be required from the DNR before someone could kill the animal.
Cougars have been documented in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.
There also have been several instances of captive cougars in Wisconsin escaping into the wild before recapture or disappearance.

Bill Novak — 1/22/2008 1:54 pm

[Hummer]

Why dont they just collar up a couple dogs and turn em loose. Then the DNR could confirm what it is when its sittin in a tree?!?! I would DTFB on a fresh track like that right out of that hay mow, no doubt!!

[Emily]

If you've got experienced cat hounds, maybe you should offer your services... You might get a fun chase out of it!

[Hummer]

If you've got experienced cat hounds, maybe you should offer your services... You might get a fun chase out of it!

I would but the only thing my dogs are experienced at is crapping and puking in the box. There have been "sigtings" of lions over the past few years in my area and I am just waiting for the morning I cut a lion track....one word DTFB!!!

[dairyfarmer]

I guess I guy couldn't get in trouble if he ran something that isn't here? They tell us that they arn't around here then allofasudden!

[Emily]

"Cougars are listed as "protected wild animals" in Wisconsin, which means a permit would be required from the DNR before someone could kill the animal."

another article:
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/268830

DNR hunting for cougar
Bill Novak — 1/23/2008 10:02 am
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff is on the trail today of the North American cougar, looking for more evidence of a big cat after one was spotted and confronted last week near Milton in Rock County.
"Our likelihood of seeing it again is very remote," said DNR wildlife supervisor Doug Fendry, calling in from the field today as he searched for more cougar tracks in the snow. "The cougar is a very secretive animal."
While more sightings are considered unlikely, Fendry said anyone who spots the animal should call him at 608-275-3220 and not try to corral or capture the animal.
"If it's a wild cougar, don't try to capture it," Fendry said. "If you see it, just report it in."
The last known wild North American cougar, also called a mountain lion or puma, disappeared from Wisconsin about 100 years ago, even though there have been undocumented reports of cougar sightings since then.
Fendry, DNR warden Boyd Richter and warden supervisor Jeremy Plautz photographed and measured the animal's tracks and collected blood and urine samples of the animal last week and plan to send the samples to a lab for genetic analysis to confirm what type of cat it is.
The tracks are "consistent" with that of the cougar, said DNR mammal ecologist Adrian Wydeven.
"We've sent in samples of suspicious cougars before, such as a scab or hairs, but they turned out to be a coyote and a bobcat," Wydeven said.
According to a story Tuesday in the Janesville Gazette, Kevin Edwardson confronted the suspect cougar after his friend, Randy Hookstead, found suspicious cat-like tracks in the snow Jan. 18 near a barn Hookstead owns.
Edwardson followed the tracks to the barn and up to the haymow but didn't see any tracks coming out, so he went up to the haymow, armed with two rocks.
The Gazette reported Edwardson didn't see a cougar at first, so he tossed a rock against a wall, which startled the animal, jumping out from behind a mound of hay and running within 15 feet of Edwardson before jumping through a hole in the barn wall and vanishing into the countryside.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Edwardson told The Gazette. "I wasn't scared. I was in awe, seeing something like that out here."
Others have spotted the cougar in the area.
"We've been getting reports of cougar observations in northeast Rock County and adjacent Jefferson County over the past couple of months," Fendry said.
DNR staff will be checking roadways, pastures, marshes and wild lands over the next few days looking for signs of the cougar.
The search will be in the towns of Milton and Lima in Rock County, especially near Storr's Lake and the Lima Marsh wildlife area.
"If possible, take digital photos of the animal and the tracks of the animal, and a tape measure to show the size of the track," Fendry said. "Record the time and exact location of the observation."
The DNR assumes the animal is a wild cougar until shown evidence to the contrary.
"The department will continue to monitor reports and if the opportunity presents itself, we would then consider capturing or radio collaring the animal, or removing it from the wild if evidence indicates it's of captive origin," Wydeven said.
Cougars are listed as "protected wild animals" in Wisconsin, which means a permit would be required from the DNR before someone could kill the animal.
Cougars have been documented in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.
There also have been several instances of captive cougars in Wisconsin escaping into the wild before recapture or disappearance.
Is a wild cougar dangerous? Wydeven said if you spot the big cat, don't get too close.
"Be cautious," he said. "There have been attacks on people in the western United States, with some being killed. As with any large carnivore, don't approach it too closely."
A cougar can weigh 60-150 lbs, while the relatively common bobcat weighs 20-40 lbs.
There is a chance the cougar, if an actual wild cougar and not an escaped captive one, could be from the Black Hills area of South Dakota, since the animal is known to have a range of up to 700 miles from its home base.
"A cougar was found in Oklahoma, and if it had gone east instead of south, it could have ended up here," Wydeven said.

Bill Novak — 1/23/2008 10:02 am

[Emily]

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/268771&ntpid=3

TUE., JAN 22, 2008 - 11:57 PM
Trapper meets cougar in Rock County barn
By Ron Seely
608-252-6131
rseely@madison.com
Kevin Edwardson is a trapper and spends more hours outdoors and in the presence of wild animals than most. But it is unlikely he 'll ever top the encounter he had Friday morning.

In the hayloft of a dilapidated barn near Milton in Rock County, Edwardson locked eyes with a cougar. More than 6 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail, the animal took two strides toward him, then made a graceful leap through the broken barn siding to the snow some 12 feet below and vanished.

The moment may prove historic. If it turns out to be a wild cougar, it could be the first confirmed sighting of one of the big cats in Wisconsin in 100 years.

"I figure it 's just a matter of time until we see a wild cougar here, " said Adrian Wydeven, the DNR 's mammal ecologist. "We know we 're in the dispersal range of the cats from the Black Hills. "

Though there have been hundreds of reported sightings over the years, none have resulted in confirmation of a wild cougar. So the animal has remained mostly a ghostly presence on the landscape, its rumored prowling one of the most persistent wild animal tales heard by the state Department of Natural Resources.

The agency keeps track of such sightings; in 2006, for example, the agency recorded 87 reported sightings of cougars, by far the most such reports of any rare mammal observations.

But when Edwardson, a 44-year-old welder who runs trap lines as a hobby, first saw the tracks in the snow on Friday morning, he knew they belonged to a cougar, a big one.

The tracks led toward a barn, up a dirt ramp and into the hayloft. Edwardson walked around the outside of the barn and, seeing no other tracks leading out, realized the cat was still inside.

"I got about halfway toward the other end of the haymow and up jumps the cougar. I couldn 't believe what I was seeing. "

"It turned broadside to me and went through the wall, " Edwardson said. "I 've never seen anything so graceful. It looked like it kind of floated through the air and then it hit the ground running. "

The cat disappeared into a woods across a snowy, 10-acre field.

Later, Doug Fendry, a wildlife supervisor with the DNR 's South Central Region, measured the stride of the running cat at 12 feet.

"I 've been doing this for 30 years and have never seen a documented case like this one, " Fendry said.

Fendry was able to obtain a sample of urine from where the cat had left its mark as well as a spot of blood from inside one of the paw prints. Those will be used to do genetic testing that may show whether the cat is an escaped pet or a wild cat from the population of Black Hills cougars that have dispersed into Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska.

Edwardson is hoping the cat was wild and living in the rugged country of the nearby wildlife areas and marshes. It would be good to know, he said, that such remarkable creatures have returned. Regardless, the image of the cougar outstretched and leaping for freedom will be with him forever.

"I 'll never forget it, " Edwardson said.

[Emily]

http://gazettextra.com/news/2008/jan/23/yes-its-cougar/

Yes, it's a cougar!
By MARCIA NELESEN ( Contact ) Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008
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JANESVILLE — It’s official, or about as official as the state Department of Natural Resources wants to get right now.

Biologists say the tracks of a large cat spotted outside of Milton are consistent with a cougar, the first time in a century that one has been confirmed living in Wisconsin.

The DNR is assuming the animal is a wild cougar, not one escaped or released from captivity.

The DNR is asking for the public’s help to gather information on the animal, its habits and range.

“If it is a wild cougar, it would be rather exciting to have a predator like this back in the state again,” said Doug Fendry, wildlife supervisor.

The pad width on the footprint is on the small end for a cougar, which means it might be a young male or female closer to about 100 pounds, he said.

An adult male weighs anywhere from 140 to 160 pounds.

Residents have reported seeing a cougar in northeast Rock County and adjacent Jefferson County over the past couple of months, Fendry said.

The DNR now will analyze urine and blood samples taken as the animal was tracked Friday afternoon from a barn on Bowers Lake Road to confirm that the animal is a North American cougar.

Staff could capture the cougar if the opportunity presents itself, but that’s easier said than done, Fendry said. Biologists then could look for a microchip, tattoos or other signs that the animal is an escaped captive. An escaped captive would not be released back to the wild.

If the animal is a wild cougar, the DNR could put a radio transmitter on the cougar and track its movements.

Cougars, also called mountain lions or pumas, disappeared in Wisconsin in the early 1900s, with the last confirmed report in 1908.

Cougars have been documented in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Those cougars apparently came from the Black Hills area and typically are young males looking to set up their own territory, Fendry said.

In Wisconsin, the DNR has tracked “rare mammal” sightings since 1991 and tends to receive 40 to 80 reports of cougar sightings a year, said Adrian Wydeven, mammal ecologist with the DNR.

In 2006, the department received at least 102 reports of cougar sightings, but 16 of those were determined “not likely.” Four were classified as “probable,” with 82 classified “possible.”

Cougars are “protected wild animals” in Wisconsin, which means a permit from the DNR is required to kill one.

DNR staff will check roads, pastures, marshes and wild lands over the next several days, mainly in the towns of Milton and Lima and especially near Storr’s Lake and Lima Marsh Wildlife Area. The cougar was last seen near Storr’s Lake Wildlife Area.

“This is such a unique situation,” Fendry said.

At a minimum, the DNR wants to learn more about the animal and get a good DNA analysis done.

Fendry said rumors are circulating that the DNR has been stocking the state with cougars, but he said that is not so.

“With something like this, we kind of let nature do its thing,” Fendry said.

Fendry has heard of cougar sightings through his 30-year career.

“Unfortunately, we’ve never had documentation,” he said.

“Now, we have something.

“The question is, is it an escaped wild cat or a true wild cougar?”

[Yellow River Houndsman]

About ten years ago there were several sightings of a cougar in Rice Lake. They had to rename the highschool mascot because of the indian reference and a name that came up often was the cougars. (It stayed the same as it was with a star for a warrior instead of a indian in a headress) My uncle had one on his deck one winter night and a few days later he found tracks in his yard again. I didn't have dogs back then but I would sure like to happen on one of them tracks nowdays and prove a few of the " educated " officials wrong. I don't see why people think it can't be true, there is some real wilderness in this part of the state.

[Emily]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=711109

Possible cougar sighting could be historic

Wild cat hasn't been in state since early 1900s

By LEE BERGQUIST
lbergquist@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Jan. 24, 2008

Conservation officials have been fielding reports of cougars stalking Wisconsin's countryside for years.

Audio
Kevin Edwardson talks with reporter Lee Bergquist
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None has ever been confirmed. But this time, the Department of Natural Resources believes it is closer to a confirmed sighting.

It comes in the form of photographs of footprints and an eyewitness account by a veteran hunter and trapper near Milton in Rock County last week.

Kevin Edwardson, 44, of the Town of Milton was called by his neighbor on Jan. 18 to look at some unusually large tracks that appeared to have come from a cat.

Edwardson, a welder by profession who spends much of his free time in the woods, followed the tracks into the hayloft of a barn.

Armed with a handful of rocks, he walked the length of the hayloft when he said a large cat jumped toward him, bounded out of a hole in the wall to the ground and ran to a nearby woodlot.

"That thing was so graceful," he said. "I was in awe."

He quickly called the neighbor, then his incredulous wife and then the DNR.

A game warden and a biologist, Doug Fendry, tracked the footprints for more than a mile before quitting. But they took photographs and captured samples of urine and blood that was sent Thursday to a laboratory in Montana for DNA testing. The blood might have come from an injured paw.

The photographs of the paw prints were e-mailed to biologists in the West who said they appeared to be from a female or young male cougar.

Adrian Wydeven, a DNR ecologist, said he will be looking for two additional details:

First, any reports of cougars that have escaped from captivity. Cougars, or mountain lions, occasionally are found in the wild in Wisconsin. But they have always been traced to private owners.

Second is the DNA test. If the report finds that the cougar is of South American descent, Wydeven said, it would be evidence the cat was from a captive source.

The Cougar Network, a national group, has found that most reports are erroneous.

"In our experience, the vast majority of reports are misidentification," said Mark Dowling, a director with the group. "We are constantly getting reports of house cats, golden retrievers, coyotes and bobcats."

Cougars are moving east, driven by the cats' strong population growth in Western states that forces them to seek new territory, he said.

The closest confirmed report to Rock County was in 2004 in Illinois, near the Quad Cities, Dowling said.

In Rock County, the DNR said, residents are beginning to comb through the area, and students and a professor from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point were expected to begin searching for signs of the cat in the next day or so.

If the reports are true, the presence of a cougar would be historic. The last known presence of cougars in the wild in Wisconsin was in the early 20th century.