Mountain lion sightings

[Steve Foss]

This topic was sort of started on the wolf sightings thread, but it's a whole other deal.

Cougar sightings in Minnesota? Yep. Depends on what you mean by "confirmed" sightings, however. Within the last two years or so there have been several sightings in the Ely/Winton area that are considered credible by the DNR, though they haven't been "confirmed" with pics, etc. Those accounts, after being thoroughly vetted, appeared in one of Ely's newspapers.

One horse between Ely and Winton died after a mountain lion attack. The slash marks, cat screams and eventual massive infection and necrosis of the flesh common from mountain lion attacks were all diagnostic. The horse had to be put down. And a Winton family saw a mountain lion and cubs in their alley late one night. There have been other sightings in the area, as well as more sightings in other places in Minnesota, the Midwest and the Prairie states.

I spent a fair amount of time last winter and the winter before that in white camo trying to call in predators to the dying rabbit call, with limted success. I'd done a lot of that for fox and coyote many years ago, and will continue to work at it this winter. If I get images to "confirm" a cougar, I'll be sure to post them.

But make no mistake. There are mountain lions roaming wild in Minnesota. Whether they were released after people bought them as cubs and found them too much to handle or whether they were bred wild, they're here.

[lunker651]

Yep, I've seen one in southern minnesota. I didn't report it to the DNR but alot of hunters in that area also recall seeing a mountain lion. I'm sure it's a mountain lion because it was only 15-20yrds away from me, I was deer hunting in my stand and he/she didn't see me and I took out my binocular and saw it real close to confirm it wasn't a bobcat. It was about 100 to 120 pounds and the ears wasn't pointy and the tail was too long to be a bobcat. Man, that was a sight seeing it really close like that, especially in the wild. I never went to hunt there again. I've heard that a mountain lion can kill up to 5-10 deers a month, that will really hurt our deer population.

I think the mountain lions escape or some irresponsible person let it go to the wild. Now, not only we have to worry about the wolves but mountain lions too. That's just too wild .

[Quackaddict9]

I havent seen one in MN but bobcats and Lynx though... There was 1 or 2 Mountain Lions shot in ND recently.

[jegerjack]

There was one that lived down in the MN river valley down by Shakopee and Savage for a few years, before it was shot by authorities a year or two ago... With all of the deer and turkey down there, I would not be surprised if it could have lived for years… My wife saw it coming home from work one day, ity was walking a train track by the Cargill plant in Savage...

[RussDaBuss]

Well, I own some land south of Mille Lacs just a bit. Not too far from Katio SP or Onamia. Anyway, A neighbor down the road has see one (not sure if same one) about once a year for a while now. 3 years ago deer hunting when it was so cold and a little snow on the ground. They were hunting opening morning, and come 10am or so, they had nothing. 2 of them got out of the stands and met and looked around only to find the Mountain Lion tracks. Pretty fresh too, being the snow was not on the ground too long. Anyway, I have never seen anything and no sign either. He lives up there full time and about a good mile, maybe 2 away. He is no B/Ser... I believe him. I think it is kinda neat to have them roaming. I have heard they have a BIG home area.. Who knows how often they stay in 1 particular location. IMO, let them be, especially if they are "wild" ones. But, let me tell ya, makes it a little chilling walking in the woods at dark!!

[buzzsaw]

Jegerjack, I'm glad somebody else remembers that! You beat me to the post.

[Kodiak]

I am originally from iowa and we used to have mountain lions down there all the time. you have to watch out for them, they will hunt you down and take you out if they are feeling like it. I would take a wolf attack over a big cat attack any day. They kill by either grabbing your neck and pinching off your coratid artery with their mouth or jumping on your back and taking their paw and digging their claws into your forehead and try to peel your head back to snap your neck....nasty animal!! I think the iowa dnr is attempting to open a trapping season or some sort of season for them.

[FOOT]

Many years ago, 1963,I was grouse hunting by Hammond Mn with 2 friends when we came across three very large pug makes in the sand on a sidehill runoff. Being we were 16 and had #6 shot we decided to cal it a day and head for home.

We got the books out and the tracks sure looked like cougar tracks. We asked one of the guys uncle's whose land we were hunting and he said yes he had seen a cougar several times.

The area back then was remote and not many houses so one could live there and never be seen.

2 years ago there was a story where someone south of Rochester reported seeing a cougar late a night in his back yard.

I remember the cougar spotted below the MPLS airport. In fact Outdoor News ran several pictures of it.

[chucker34]

Saw a cougar cross the road into Sibley State Park outside of New London last year. I knew it was a big cat of some sort and after looking at several picutres of bobcats and cougars, decided it had to have been a cougar. The tail was long and the facial features were distinct. And no, this wasn't after 6-7 beers at the Legion just after sunset. It was in plain daylight. DNR told me I probably saw a yellow lab and that cougars never make it down this far. But there have been dead foals found high in the trees and mature horses with scratch marks on their upper back/neck areas in the past around here.

[bigbucks]

jegerjack,

I'm sorry, but I gotta ask: Where did the mountain lion work, being she saw it coming home from there?...

[wooly1]

lunker651,

That would be at least 300-700 pound of meat monthly. Cats can go along time between meals because their stalks are seldom 100% successful

IMHO, 1 deer per week would be an efficient and well fed cat.

In my neck of the woods there has "neighbor sightings" but never first person accounts or pictures. I've hunted deer and turkey in my river bluff and valley land. Never seen a track, shadow or kill site. Now I know they are very nomadic and travel great distances but in my years cruising my old growth you would think I would have seen some evidence. Until the coyotes and rabbits are thinned out more by the big kitties, I'm not too worried.

Now to counter my skepticsim, I believe there are cougars in Minnesota, even southern MN but few in number.

[SCUMFROG]

Kodiak: What are you smoking?

Cougars do not hunt humans, and attacks are very rare. There are cougars in Minnesota all over from what I hear. If you leave them alone they will leave you alone.

They only hunt when they need to eat and feed they're young. They like us, are just trying to survive.

[nolte]

Lions

I'd like to make a few corrections as to the behavior of mountain lions. This is from doing a little research and talking to numerous lion hunters out west.

Lion Screams, although you often hear about this happening, the only time you may hear the "lion scream" is from a female that is in estrous. Confronted cats usually will only make a hissing sound.

Lions also don't bring their kills into trees. If they can't eat them they will cover them up until they come back. Usually they drag the carcass off into the brush in the shade so that it keeps better and also so that it isn't as easy for birds and such to see it.

Kodiak, was correct in the way that they kill animals. There are three ways, one is after they jump on the animals back they will reach around and pull the snout and either break the neck or then bite the throat. On smaller animals they may also bite the vertebrae in the neck and kill the animals very quickly.

About lions hunting people, it doesn't happen very often. Lions are very solitary animals and avoid human presence as much as possible. Also, if a lion truly wanted to stalk a human for prey the person would be toast. Mt Lions are the most efficient predator in N. America. They take down the same type of animals as wolves, but do it by themselves. Lions favorite food sources are mule deer followed by elk, but they will eat other critters given the opportunity.

In MN I sure wouldn't worry about any threats from Mt. Lions to humans or any of our game populations. In fact the vast majority of people in MN will never see one inside the state borders

[fishermn]

I have seen Mt. Lions in Northeastern MN at least 4 different times. Once near Aitkin, Twice in the Grand Rapids area, and once near Duluth. They are definitely in the area, but they are pretty reclusive as mentioned in earlier posts. I have only once ever heard of them being a threat to a human in this area.

[Johnny_Namakan]

My brother and i saw a mt. lion cross HWY 53 just north of Cook about 12 years ago. I've never seen another one since, but the DNR says that there is a mating pair in the Orr area. They're out there, but I don't think they're anything to worry about. Famous last words, right?

[M.T. Bucket]

Here is some plagiaraized information for surviving a mountain lion encounter. Personally, from reading and talking I've done, I think there are mountain lions in Minnesota, but very, very few, and only in remote areas in the northern part of the state for the most part. I think that the majority of claimed mountain lion sightings are not valid for a number of possible reasons and few people ever produce anything that could be considered evidence, like photos of the footprints. Having said that, I know of at least one extremely credible source who has had multiple sightings in Minnesota and I do sometimes get a little chill when I'm bushwhacking under a clump of cedars, like one might pounce on me!

Preventing an encounter:

- Carry a sturdy walking stick to be used as a weapon if necessary.

- Watch for cougar tracks and signs. Cougars cover unconsumed portions of their kills with soil and leaf litter. Avoid these food caches.

If you meet a cougar:

- Stay calm. Talk to the cougar in a confident voice.

- Do not turn your back on it, face the cougar and remain upright.

- Do all you can to enlarge your image. Don't crouch down or try to hide. Pick up sticks or branches and wave them about.

- Do not run. Try to back away from the cougar slowly. Sudden movement or flight may trigger an instinctive attack.

- If you must bend down to find weapons, do so while maintaining a frontal, aggressive posture. If at all possible, step up to a higher position-atop a rock, stump, log, picnic table, or whatever. Biologists generally agree that height is a measure of dominance in the cat world. What's taller is dominant; what's lower is submissive or potential prey.

If the cougar behaves aggressively:

- Arm yourself with a large stick, throw rocks, speak loudly and firmly. Convince the cougar that you are a threat not prey.

- If a cougar attacks, fight back! Many people have survived cougar attacks by fighting back with anything, including rocks, sticks, bare fists, and fishing poles. Direct your blows to the eyes, nose, ears, and face of the cougar.

- Never "play dead".

[lawdog]

We've had one in Rock County this fall. Its been spotted by a number of people and the DNR observed the paw prints after my neighbor ran it out of his corn field with the combine. I never thought they'd be around here, but this one has been seen a lot this fall and like I said the paw prints were preserved and seen by the DNR.

I don't think there are many here, but an occasional stray or more likely someone's "pet" that outgrew being a pet.

[ChuckN]

I had one living next to my house, in the woods, for about 10 days last fall. Late at night I saw the cougar once when my motion light kicked on as I was walking next to the house. It was about 15 yards away.

I heard it run two other times in the dark when I arrived home late at night. I thought it was running at me, but in November, with no snow on the ground and crunchy leaves....they make one he$% of a sound when they run. Luckily I spooked the cougar and it ran away.

My wife was with on the last sighting. She didn't believe me until she witnessed it herself.

My neighbor had similar sightings, all after dark, but he heard the animal scream, or whatever call they make....

It scared me to death, and to this day it still does. But I don't carry a stick.

BTW, while this was happening, there was an article in Fargo Forum newspaper talking about a family of Cougars living in Maplewood State Park, about 40 miles from my home. Cougars roam all over!

[Kodiak]

SCUMFROG-

lions dont attack people? ask the girl in california last year riding a mountain bike.

I did say "IF THEY ARE FEELING LIKE IT"

I wonder why my account always get locked for "personal attacks" cause i retaliate for some stupid comment someone makes about me or my post. Seems like i am on a administrator watch list or something cause if i said something like that, my account would be locked. Check yourself....

BTW here is some good information-

even if there is one lion attack a year that is too much for me if i see one.

thank you,

Kodiak

[chubkiller]

We fish every summer off of Snowbank, the last 2 years there has been cougars living between there and Flash. My son was within 20 yards of a female 2 years ago and we have found scat and other signs there as well. The guys at Smitty's told us she had cubs over there as well.

[YukonDew]

Here are some interesting facts I pulled from a website and updated with the most current statistics I could find. This should add some perspective -

150 Annual human deaths in auto collisions with deer

94 deaths due to bee and wasp stings annually

73 deaths each year due to lightning strikes.

17 - 20 people killed each year by domestic dogs. (230,000+ annual attacks!)

10 human deaths resulting from snake bites.

.1754 annual fatal mountain lion attacks in North America from 1890-2004

Remember folks - if you find yourself looking over your shoulder worried about an impending deadly cougar attack, you are 416 more likely to be killed by a lightning strike. I guess some of us will win the lottery, some of us get killed by cougars. The rest of us grow old going to work.

[bigbucks]

Interesting stats & yet pretty misleading. There's also 80 bazillion more deer & dogs, but if you live where there actually are moutain lions, the odds although still very, very low, would have to go up considerably.

The millions & millions of people living in large US cities still could get bit by a dog while they're there, but have virtually no chance of getting attacked by a mountain lion, just like I don't if there aren't any on any of the property I walk around on.

[Steve Foss]

Yukon, thanks for the perspective.

However, those stats, which are fairly widely reported, show some inadequacies. Each statistic may be "true," but comparing them doesn't accurately indicate an individual's risk of lion attack.

There aren't all that many people in America who live where there are mountain lions. In fact, unless you live in a western state, you're very unlikely to live where there's much of a population, even though the big cats are seen now and then in many other places.

However, vastly larger numbers of people drive where there are deer, and even more live where there are dogs. And almost everyone lives where there is lightning. So almost everyone comes into contact with those potential killers all the time, whereas far fewer live where they may come in contact with mountain lions.

Now, if mountain lions were as common as dogs or lightning or deer, I reckon the number of people killed by them each year would increase quite a bit, and those stats would be a more direct comparison. If you live in Minneapolis, no mountain lions around, but plenty of dogs and lightning, and deer too, so it's not a direct comparison.

In other words, if I live where there are significant populations of mountain lions, I'm a lot more likely to be attacked by one than if I live where there aren't any, while, even if I don't live in lion country, I'm just as likely to be killed in a deer accident, by lightning or a dog attack as almost anyone else in the country.

[Steve Foss]

Ooops, bigbucks said it short and sweet and got it in there while I was making a detailed long post.

[Kodiak]

hahaha right on catfish!

[buzzsaw]

Catfish, I believe you should be a forum moderator! You take the time to put into words what needs to be said and offer alot of good insight to alot of different subjects. I always take the time to read your posts as well as Crappie Tom's.

[Steve Foss]

Buzz, thanks for the kudos. I used to moderate the Wisconsin and the BWCAW-Duluth-Range boards. Plus, being in newspapers all these years makes me think I know everything.

But then my time all ran away and I couldn't be sure I'd have enough time to spend every day, day in and day out. Takes a lot to be a good mod, and includes reading every post on the boards you moderate every day, or nearly every day — not just the ones I'm interested in — and doing a fair number of things that aren't seen by non-mods. Just got too busy.

Now I've got more time again, since the photography business is getting established and the Web site is up and running, so I'm here chiming in more often whenever I feel like it.

And so here's a hats-off to the mods, who give their time so generously.

[FOOT]

Guess what folks, Mountain Lions are moving into populated areas. My wife lived in California not 3 miles from two mountain lion attacks on humans. Different lions and yes they were older and probably saw easier prey in humans. Also do you think it was in the mountains, nope it was real close to downtown Riverside Calif. Riverside is a short 70 miles from LA. There are several draws and gulleys that provide good cover for deer and other prey which I'm sure added to the influx of lions.

Would I be afraid to travel in these areas. NO I wouldn't but knowing they exist in an area I am in would make me mindfull of the situation.

They are a beautiful animal and shouldn't be feared but respected for what they are and what they can do.

[almostthere!]

Men and beasts that eat men can not live peacefully together no matter how beautiful the beasts are.

[YukonDew]

Excellent points guys, and I agree with your comments on the comparison completely. But that's exactly why I doubt I need to worry about it. My odds are low I will run into a cougar, even lower that it will be interested in me, and next to nil that I will become diner. They are definitely quite the predator and having very few of them around is fine with me!

It seems like wildlife dangers get so much press - shark attacks, cougar attacks, bear attacks, dangers from deer, etc...... For example; I spent a few years living near Red Lodge Montana and covered hundreds of miles hiking in the mountains south of Columbus. I know many people who still live there and hike 3-4 weeks a year. No one I have met personally has ever been in any real danger form bears during hiking - harassed maybe - but never really threatened. But when one bear attack happens anywhere in Montana, one would think from reading the papers that your average hiker is lucky to escape with their life anytime they step out of their car and hit a trail. I just wanted to make the point that it's not necessary to get too excited about cougars here in Minnesota - very few of us will ever see one - fewer yet will be in a position to be concerned for their safety.