The Wisconsin DNR has a new web page with cougar info and links, plus link for reporting cougar sightings:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/mammals/cougar/index.htm
new WI cougar website
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Bearkiller
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They must have a ton of lions if they're getting hit by cars. I've lived in lion country my whole life and never saw one. I'm trying to remember if I've ever HEARD of one being hit by a car. Seems like maybe 5 years or so ago in washington one got hit. How many do you figure you've seen get hit? Next time you see one you should take a picture and send it to the newspaper.
Don't buy the hype.
"Those who hammer their guns into plows, will plow for those who do not." - Thomas Jefferson
"Those who hammer their guns into plows, will plow for those who do not." - Thomas Jefferson
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cecil j.
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not me/ ossamma obomma is the wrong thing to put in as pre/v
I don`t like politcken but they missed their chance they could of had a unbeatable republican ticket this time with Huckabee an McCain vs Omomma an Clinton/ the republican party just has to many left wing members now too get it right ! Well they might could get Huckabee as vice and it still could work for the republican party this time ?! I know the nation is tired of fighting for other countrys problems and were tired of the border no fence and were tired of jobs going overseas and illgls comeing here an workin for pennys and our own citzens can`t work for that cause prices goods and rent or house payments are too high/ and gasoline holly cow its crazzyness in priceing/ this country wii work everthing out now that it`s back is too the wall !!!Bearkiller wrote:They must have a ton of lions if they're getting hit by cars. I've lived in lion country my whole life and never saw one. I'm trying to remember if I've ever HEARD of one being hit by a car. Seems like maybe 5 years or so ago in washington one got hit. How many do you figure you've seen get hit? Next time you see one you should take a picture and send it to the newspaper.
jack and as far as cars hitting lion/ they are so thick in lion popul.nos
it is ocurring fairly regurally/even back in the 90`s in corsegold ca area !
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plottsrule
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Bearkiller wrote:They must have a ton of lions if they're getting hit by cars. I've lived in lion country my whole life and never saw one. I'm trying to remember if I've ever HEARD of one being hit by a car. Seems like maybe 5 years or so ago in washington one got hit. How many do you figure you've seen get hit? Next time you see one you should take a picture and send it to the newspaper.
Ya, no pics and no tracks in the winter. Wi is full of houndsmen ya think one of them would find a track in winter, and tree it to take pics of it.
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Emily
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http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/app ... /GPGsports
Posted March 20, 2008
Patrick Durkin column: Cougar sightings bring out hoaxes, fears
By Patrick Durkin
After writing last week about the state Department of Natural Resources-certified cougar sighting near Milton, I wasn't surprised when several readers called or e-mailed to discuss cougars they've seen in Wisconsin.
The Milton news emboldened them. They no longer felt as if they were claiming Bigfoot raided their cooler and stole the wife's SUV.
Then the tips and eyewitness accounts increased last weekend after the DNR confirmed that tracks found 23 miles southeast of Milton on March 7 were a cougar's.
I was flattered by the attention, but why not contact a state-employed biologist and try to verify things? After all, the state twice validated cougar evidence in recent weeks after failing to certify any the previous 100 years.
The DNR is objective and doing its due diligence, but some folks remain wary. Some said the DNR "blew them off" when they reported their sighting. Others feared a cynical DNR staffer would snicker while taking their information.
Maybe so, but let's consider the agency's perspective. Just like us, state employees have daily responsibilities, unfair supervisors and unreasonable deadlines. When concerned citizens report a cougar skulking near their kid's bus stop, the staffers probably envision their work-train derailing. Their schedule disintegrates as they visit the scene and file a rare-mammal report.
They also cringe when anticipating how the citizen might respond if evidence shows the animal was actually a Labrador, coyote, bobcat, fisher or homeless tomcat. "I know what I saw, and you didn't see what I saw, so scratch me right here, buddy!"
Professor Eric Anderson at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has investigated many reported cougar sightings, and sometimes he'd rather wrestle a wildcat than disappoint an eyewitness. "I have a thick skin, but after working on this project, you wonder why you investigate some of this," he conceded at a recent meeting of the Wisconsin Wildlife Society.
Also undermining the credibility of eyewitnesses are Internet hoaxes that circulate far longer than nine lives. This year's most well-traveled photos show a man posing behind a giant cougar, with a story claiming it was road-killed near Eagle River.
The truth? The cat died on a highway north of Williams, Ariz., and it was documented by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Cougar hoaxes are so common the Wisconsin DNR now has a Web site to debunk them: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/ ... hoaxes.htm.
Less easily blunted are rumors and DNR conspiracy theories. Even before the Milton cougar appeared, people accused the agency of trucking cougars, wolves and more coyotes to southern Wisconsin to kill deer in hopes of controlling chronic wasting disease. After all, the agency secretly stocked wolves in the Northwoods 30 years ago, right?
Meanwhile, the DNR and university researchers continue to investigate cougar sightings, including a recent Oconto County report with some potential. A DNR employee thought tracks in the fluffy snow could be a cougar's, and he collected feces the animal apparently deposited.
Laboratory tests soon determined it was "canid" poop, however, possibly from a coyote or dog. Adrian Wydeven, a DNR biologist in Park Falls, said the tracks were too small to be a wolf's.
Despite the difficulty of confirming cougar sightings, Wydeven and Anderson encourage people to report them as soon as possible. In turn, people shouldn't take it personally if biologists can't find hair, scat, blood, urine or good tracks to confirm the sighting. "There's a big difference between denying a cougar's existence and simply not confirming it," Wydeven said.
Anderson also said the accumulated evidence of recent years suggests wild cougars at least visit Wisconsin. He thinks they're probably young males seeking mates and their favorite food — deer. "We have the food, but not the females," Anderson said.
Therefore, it's likely that scientists will some day document more free-ranging cougars in Wisconsin, and maybe even a self-sustaining population. If that happens, what's next?
Only one thing is certain: Human fears would prove far tougher to manage than the cougar's presence.
Patrick Durkin is a free-lance writer who covers outdoors for the Press-Gazette. E-mail him at patrickdurkin@charter.net
Posted March 20, 2008
Patrick Durkin column: Cougar sightings bring out hoaxes, fears
By Patrick Durkin
After writing last week about the state Department of Natural Resources-certified cougar sighting near Milton, I wasn't surprised when several readers called or e-mailed to discuss cougars they've seen in Wisconsin.
The Milton news emboldened them. They no longer felt as if they were claiming Bigfoot raided their cooler and stole the wife's SUV.
Then the tips and eyewitness accounts increased last weekend after the DNR confirmed that tracks found 23 miles southeast of Milton on March 7 were a cougar's.
I was flattered by the attention, but why not contact a state-employed biologist and try to verify things? After all, the state twice validated cougar evidence in recent weeks after failing to certify any the previous 100 years.
The DNR is objective and doing its due diligence, but some folks remain wary. Some said the DNR "blew them off" when they reported their sighting. Others feared a cynical DNR staffer would snicker while taking their information.
Maybe so, but let's consider the agency's perspective. Just like us, state employees have daily responsibilities, unfair supervisors and unreasonable deadlines. When concerned citizens report a cougar skulking near their kid's bus stop, the staffers probably envision their work-train derailing. Their schedule disintegrates as they visit the scene and file a rare-mammal report.
They also cringe when anticipating how the citizen might respond if evidence shows the animal was actually a Labrador, coyote, bobcat, fisher or homeless tomcat. "I know what I saw, and you didn't see what I saw, so scratch me right here, buddy!"
Professor Eric Anderson at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has investigated many reported cougar sightings, and sometimes he'd rather wrestle a wildcat than disappoint an eyewitness. "I have a thick skin, but after working on this project, you wonder why you investigate some of this," he conceded at a recent meeting of the Wisconsin Wildlife Society.
Also undermining the credibility of eyewitnesses are Internet hoaxes that circulate far longer than nine lives. This year's most well-traveled photos show a man posing behind a giant cougar, with a story claiming it was road-killed near Eagle River.
The truth? The cat died on a highway north of Williams, Ariz., and it was documented by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Cougar hoaxes are so common the Wisconsin DNR now has a Web site to debunk them: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/ ... hoaxes.htm.
Less easily blunted are rumors and DNR conspiracy theories. Even before the Milton cougar appeared, people accused the agency of trucking cougars, wolves and more coyotes to southern Wisconsin to kill deer in hopes of controlling chronic wasting disease. After all, the agency secretly stocked wolves in the Northwoods 30 years ago, right?
Meanwhile, the DNR and university researchers continue to investigate cougar sightings, including a recent Oconto County report with some potential. A DNR employee thought tracks in the fluffy snow could be a cougar's, and he collected feces the animal apparently deposited.
Laboratory tests soon determined it was "canid" poop, however, possibly from a coyote or dog. Adrian Wydeven, a DNR biologist in Park Falls, said the tracks were too small to be a wolf's.
Despite the difficulty of confirming cougar sightings, Wydeven and Anderson encourage people to report them as soon as possible. In turn, people shouldn't take it personally if biologists can't find hair, scat, blood, urine or good tracks to confirm the sighting. "There's a big difference between denying a cougar's existence and simply not confirming it," Wydeven said.
Anderson also said the accumulated evidence of recent years suggests wild cougars at least visit Wisconsin. He thinks they're probably young males seeking mates and their favorite food — deer. "We have the food, but not the females," Anderson said.
Therefore, it's likely that scientists will some day document more free-ranging cougars in Wisconsin, and maybe even a self-sustaining population. If that happens, what's next?
Only one thing is certain: Human fears would prove far tougher to manage than the cougar's presence.
Patrick Durkin is a free-lance writer who covers outdoors for the Press-Gazette. E-mail him at patrickdurkin@charter.net
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