First ever recorded treed cougar in MN

[lichen fox]

+1 ! ....I seen kits about 25 years ago in northern Mn...at the time, now one would have probably believed me...so, I never shared it until recently....

[cherokee]

That was the way it went Lichen. We shared our experience with a few but the common reply was it must have been a bobcat or a bear or may a deer with some fawns.

My dad is in his eighties now and we still talk about that day. It was really neat to see. Yet no one believed us.

[lichen fox]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

Although cougar attacks are rare, they can be fatal.This is a list of fatal cougar attacks that occurred in North America by decade in chronological order. The cougar is also commonly known as a puma, mountain lion, mountain cat, catamount, or panther. The sub-population in Florida, which is the only population east of the Mississippi River, is known as the Florida panther.

At least 20 people in North America were killed by cougars between 1890 and 2011, including six in California. More than two-thirds of the Canadian fatalities occurred on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Fatal cougar attacks are extremely rare and occur much less frequently than fatal dog attacks, fatal snake bites, fatal lightning strikes, or fatal bee stings.[citation needed] Children are particularly vulnerable. The majority of the child victims listed here were not accompanied by adults.

Before 1970Name, age, gender Date Location, comments

Arthur Dangle, 7, male June 19, 1890 Killed by two cougars while playing near his home in Quartz Valley, Siskiyou County, California

Isola Kennedy, 38, female; Earl Wilson, 10, male July 5, 1909 Rabid cougar attacked a woman and child in Morgan Hill in Santa Clara County, California. Both victims died from rabies, not from the physical injuries. This is the only instance of a double fatality and the only instance where the victims succumbed to disease rather than the injuries sustained in the attack.

Jimmie Fehlhaber, 13, male December 17, 1924 Attacked and killed in Olema, Washington as he tried to outrun a cougar for about 100 yards

Dominic Taylor, 7, male June 1949 Attacked and killed while walking on a beach in Kyuquot, British Columbia

Unknown, female 1951 Killed in Tampico, Mexico

Elena Salzar, 5, female June 1953 Attacked, dragged off, and eaten in Tampico, Mexico

1970sName, age, gender Date Location, comments

Lawrence Wells, 12, male January 1971 Attacked and killed in Lytton, British Columbia by male cougar while playing with his sisters

Kenneth Clark Nolan, 8, male January 20, 1974 Killed by a 3 year old female cougar in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico

Thomas Harris, 26, male July 1976 Killed by a two year old male cougar near Gold River on British Columbia's Vancouver Island. He was dragged over 800 yards in the snow.

1980s Name, age, gender Date Location, comments

Jesse Sky Bergman, 9, male May 16, 1988 Stalked and killed by a four year old male cougar at Catface Mountain, near Tofino, British Columbia

Jake Thomas Gardipee, 5, male September 9, 1989 Attacked and killed by at least two, possibly three, cougars behind his Missoula County, Montana home while riding a tricycle

1990s Name, age, gender Date Location, comments

Scott Lancaster, 18, male January 14, 1991 Killed while jogging a familiar route on a hill above Clear Creek High School in Idaho Springs, Colorado

Jeremy Williams, 7, male May 1992 Attacked and killed in Kyuquot, British Columbia by a young female cougar while playing in the school yard.

Barbara Barsalou Schoener, 40, female April 23, 1994 Long distance runner and Placerville resident was attacked and killed while jogging on the American River Canyon Trail in California's Auburn State Recreation Area

Iris M. Kenna, 56, female December 10, 1994 Killed while hiking alone near Cuyamaca Peak in California's Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

Cindy Parolin, 36, female August 19, 1996 Mother killed while defending her 6 year old son on a horse back riding trip in British Columbia

Mark Miedema, 10, male July 17, 1997 Killed by an adult female cougar in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park while hiking when he got ahead of his family

2000s Name, age, gender Date Location, comments

Frances Frost, 30, female January 2, 2001 This Canmore, Alberta resident was killed by a cougar while skiing on Cascade Fire Road just north of Banff National Park in Alberta

Mark Jeffrey Reynolds, 35, male January 8, 2004 Attacked and killed while mountain biking at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in southern Orange County, California

Robert Nawojski, 55, male June 24, 2008 Searchers found his body on this date near his mobile home in Pinos Altos, New Mexico. Investigators concluded that he had been attacked and killed by a cougar several days earlier.

[monstermoose78]

When I went to college at Vermilion Community College in Ely, MN we did scent post surveys for the DNR and every year someone would have cougar tracks along the echo trail and off the gunflint trail.

[BobT]

My neighbors dogs treed that cougar again. At least he thinks it's the same one. I guess if it is, it has been hanging around and not moving too much. Either that or we have more around than we think.

[Dave S]

If there's no pressure and plenty of food, they might stick around.

[HawgMan]

See one run accross county road #8 in Floodwood about 20 years ago.It had just snowed,so it was very visible. Stopped & got out to look at the tracks. Two leaps and it cleared the gravel road.

[fishnowworknever]

Wow that is really neat.

That article dating back to 2002 about the Bloomington, MN cat is something else. That family claims to have witnessed bear as well.

[lawnbuilder]

Just remember they are all just moving thru trying to find a home territory. That's what I always hear in ND. You would think one might stick around every now and then. Of course now with a season on them it is hard to say there isn't an established population. I believe MN also has an established population.

[thatoneguy]

See one run accross county road #8 in Floodwood about 20 years ago.It had just snowed,so it was very visible. Stopped & got out to look at the tracks. Two leaps and it cleared the gravel road.

I also saw one near Floodwood, just last summer.

[mainbutter]

Sounds like most (if not all) of these mountain lions are young males coming in from south dakota or canada

The one killed last(?) year was a female if I'm remembering correctly. I've heard the same claims that the sightings are wandering males, but the only individual I've heard about the sex being verified on was that female. It makes me think people are just *wishing* they were all males.

If wishes were fishes

[BobT]

Went to choir practice tonight at our church and found a set of cougar tracks in the parking lot. About the size of the palm of my hand and as is typical of a feline, its back prints are on top of the front. You could also see where its tail was dragging on the ground. Our church is a country church along the Sauk River. From what I've read, they like to follow river bottoms because it provides cover and opportunity. Makes one want to be a little more observant when going out after dark.

[Murdock]

St. Mary's University in Winona just sent a warning to all students and faculty yesterday that a Cougar/Mountain Lion was spotted on campus. Make sense, great environment with plenty of prey for a food source. The bluffs also make it a spot for a cougar.

[theghost_03]

Great, ill be turkey hunting there in a month!

[kkahmann]

I find this terribly interesting as I keep expecting to also tree one with my dogs. I bear hunt with hounds as well as run deer and moose (which is legal here). I have never seen one in 40 years hereabouts but have no trouble believeing we get the odd one moving thru. I don't think we have enough deer hereabouts for a resident population.

Lynx have very big feet so I'm not sure on a set of tracks but the tail drag is definitive.

Lichen Fox gave a list of people killed by cougars in the last few years. One of those killed was Cindy Parolin from BC. I talked to one of the BC Forest guys who investigated that incident. Her small son was dragged off his horse by a cougar and she went to his defense fighting off the cat. Her Daughter and her son ran for help, which was a long way off, they returned with a man who happened to have a gun and he killed the cat. That woman had fought that cat with her bare hands for over an hour. She was cut up pretty bad and upon learning that her children were alright--she died. The cat was a young female and only wieghed 63 lbs.

[DrJuice1980]

Thought I came across some tracks down by Belle Creek in Cannon Falls/Welch area last summer. Sure weren't dog tracks. Made me a little weary but the trusty buck knife travels with me just in case. Don't know how much help that would do if I got the sneak attack from behind and it latched onto my neck.

[DLD24]

Ya I don't think I would feel safe with a buck knife against one haha...My buddy told me a few years ago he was walking to his deer stand and a big buck ran across the trail in front him with a cougar right on his heels...Ha I would have been heading back even with the rifle lol

[hawkeye43]

4 years ago I saw one on the lake by the state park, I only told a few people because I wasn't for sure if that is what I saw, but when the Waterville cop saw it by the highway by the state park eating a road kill deer then I knew I was right. It came by the fish house on night and ate the 4 bullheads near the house.

[goetler]

My old man lives North of Madison Lake MN. He has heard what he believes was a cougar a few years ago. He was sitting on his deck and heard an awful noise like something was killing something. His cat was sitting on his lap and stood up, looked that direction and arched its back and hissed. He said in all the years that he has lived there he has never heard anything like that. He went out there the next morning to see if he could see anything but could not. It is CRP land so no prints. I also know of people that live in North Mankato that have had a cougar in there yard even though the police said that there are no cougars. LOL

[IL Res]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cougar-killed-on-northeast-illinois-farm-20131121,0,2495757.story

IL DNR officer shot/ killed mature male in Morrison, IL on 11/20/13. It appears to be the wild kind. Makes you wonder how many are out there watching us and we don't know it. Pure survival machines! Sad to see it killed, but exited to see these cats are adapting and trying to expand their ranges. I'm sure not everyone agrees...

[BobT]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-cougar-killed-on-northeast-illinois-farm-20131121,0,2495757.story

IL DNR officer shot/ killed mature male in Morrison, IL on 11/20/13. It appears to be the wild kind. Makes you wonder how many are out there watching us and we don't know it. Pure survival machines! Sad to see it killed, but exited to see these cats are adapting and trying to expand their ranges. I'm sure not everyone agrees...

Actually, they aren't expanding their ranges. More of a coming back to home.

[DonBo]

By Lauren Zumbach and Liam FordTribune reporters

12:28 p.m. CST, November 22, 2013

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is defending a conservation police officer's decision to fatally shoot a cougar in Whiteside County after it was found hiding near a farmhouse.

The encounter Wednesday near Morrison, about 130 miles west of Chicago, that left the animal dead was the first confirmed sighting of a cougar in Illinois since November 2012.

Chris McCloud, spokesman for the IDNR, said the conservation officer at the scene is responsible for determining whether an animal poses a threat to public safety. In this case, McCloud said, the officer decided it was a public safety issue because the cougar was very close to a residence.

"Public safety is what we’ll make the decision on every time," he said.

Before deciding to euthanize an animal, the IDNR considers other options, including tranquilizing and relocating the animal, McCloud said.

Conservation officers do not carry tranquilizers because they aren’t trained to handle the chemical and assess the proper dosage so that they don’t inadvertently harm or kill the animal, McCloud said. Calling in a veterinarian equipped to tranquilize the cougar wasn’t an option in this case because of the safety risk, he said.

However, the same safety risks means the IDNR wouldn’t consider relocating a cougar, a predatory animal not protected by state conservation law, McCloud said.

When asked whether there are any alternatives to killing cougars, McCloud said "that’s a good question. There is no specific answer. You would have to have someone that would take the animal."

He said that situation had never come up.

But Bruce Patterson, Curator of Mammals at the Field Museum who studies large cats, said he didn’t see evidence the cougar in Whitefield County was a threat.

Patterson said Chicago police had no option but to shoot a cougar found on Chicago’s North Side in 2008, because it was in the middle of a crowded city and near an elementary school.

"But I can’t figure out why this animal had to be shot," he said.

He said reports that the cougar was found in a concrete tunnel in a corn crib suggest it was looking for a safe place to hide during the day, and didn’t indicate an imminent threat.

"It’s possible to manage wildlife while still keeping it around," Patterson said.

The family that spotted the cougar Wednesday, however, felt the cougar was a threat. A farmer near Morrison called authorities about 2 p.m. Wednesday after he saw a large cat leaving a corn field and running toward the farmhouse and other buildings, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

A conservation officer arrived at the farm and found the owner's wife in the home, safe, made sure that horses in a nearby barn and horse lot were unharmed and then found the cougar in a concrete tunnel under the corn crib, the department said.

The farmer asked that the animal be killed, and the officer consulted with law enforcement and wildlife personnel and talked with the farmer's wife. Officials decided to kill the animal and the officer used his state-issued rifle, according to the department.

The officer estimated it weighed more than 100 pounds and was almost 6 feet in length. Wildlife biologists were expected to conduct a necropsy.

Cougars have not been known to live in Illinois since 1870 and are not protected by state conservation law. No confirmed cougar encounter with humans has taken place since 2008, although trail cameras in Jo Daviess, Morgan, Pike and Calhoun counties captured photographs of a cougar or cougars in the fall of 2012, according to the Natural Resources Department.

Before Wednesday, the last time a confirmed cougar was encountered in Illinois was when a male cougar was shot and killed in the Roscoe Village neighborhood in 2008. Prior to that, a male was killed by a hunter in Mercer County in 2004, and a male was killed by a train in 2002.