Mountain lion killed by car near Bemidgi

[Tom7227]

Mountain lion fatally struck by car near Bemidji

Associated Press

Updated: 09/21/2009 05:22:54 PM CDT

BEMIDJI, Minn. — Wildlife researchers are trying to find out more information about a mountain lion that was hit and killed by a car near Bemidji.

The mountain lion was hit on Friday night. On Monday, the cat was taken to Grand Rapids where Minnesota Department of Natural Resources researchers will perform a necropsy.

Blane Klemek, a DNR wildlife manager in Bemidji, says the adult female cougar appears to have been a wild animal, because she didn't have a collar and hadn't been declawed.

Klemek says researchers will look in the cat's stomach to see what she's been eating. The necropsy will also determine how old she was.

Confirmed mountain lion sightings in Minnesota are rare.

[croixflats]

Saw it on the news. Sad to see a loss of such a magnificent animal.

What was even more diturbing was seeing the DNR agent in pictures holding it like a trophy. Why does he need a picture of a dead couger around his neck?

[huntnfish]

I thought I read in the Fargo Forum that it was a male?

There were reports of a cougar around the west of the Itasca area a few years ago. Supposedly there were tracks in the beach that were confirmed to be those of a cougar. I heard about it from my Aunt who has a cabin near where the tracks were found. I never heard or saw anything else about it after that. Theres lots of miles of woods in that area so it wouldn't surprise me if they were roaming around that area.

[Code-Man]

I heard on KFGO that it was a female.

[Fish Slayer]

It was a female I heard it was hit right on Carr lake Rd which is pretty much still in town if you ask me.

[huntnfish]

"Blane Klemek, assistant area wildlife manager for the DNR in Bemidji, said the cat was a young adult male that weighed an estimated 110 pounds. The DNR initially reported the cat was female."

Whatever the sex, it makes you wonder if you're really just hearing things on the walk to the stand in the dark.

[RumRiverRat]

It is getting harder for the DNR to deny that there is a bunch of them living in MN.

[brittman]

It is getting harder for the DNR to deny that there is a bunch of them living in MN.

Was just thinking the same thing. Nodak G&F said there were none for years. Then they started showing up dead. Now there is a season.

[mrklean]

cant deny it now can they, makes you wonder how many are really in MN

[Code-Man]

Funny you should say that about "Makes you wonder when your walking to your stand in the dark" 3 years ago there was a mountain lion roaming the property I'm bow hunting. Last year was a moose so I'm nervous about what will be out there this year.

[machohorn]

Maybe a deer this year for you coed-man, lol

[Riverratpete]

well now just hold on...according to the DNR Cougars are not in this state..just cruising through or someones pet that got loose..gotta laugh on this one though..well thats if you believe your eyes and the picture was really taken in Minnesota...I'm surprised the DNR hasn't come out and said don't believe your eyes..believe us when we say.....still trying to figure out why the DNR keeps denying they exist in the state..are they afraid the local populations going to freak or what...weird.

[B. Amish]

does the DNR really believe there are no mountain lions in the state or is that just the canned response they give everytime someone sees a coyote, or bobcat, or deer, or stray dog, or whatever and swears they saw a mountain lion and immediately calls the DNR demanding action or an investigation.

[JeffB]

Saw it on the news. Sad to see a loss of such a magnificent animal.

What was even more diturbing was seeing the DNR agent in pictures holding it like a trophy. Why does he need a picture of a dead couger around his neck?

It was probably really cool for him to get this call. It's interesting and out of the ordinary. I don't blame him for the photo. Why do any of us need pictures of fish or game taken. He didn't ask for or cause the death of the couger. I would have taken a few photos myself.

[Harmonica Bear]

Yah - a friend of mine from the state just sent me the pics. Didn't bother me at all. Whooptee-doo.

[glenn57]

Funny you should say that about "Makes you wonder when your walking to your stand in the dark" 3 years ago there was a mountain lion roaming the property I'm bow hunting. Last year was a moose so I'm nervous about what will be out there this year.

YOU KNOW THEY SPOTTED BIGFOOT LAST YEAR BY BOWSTRING LAKE!!!!!!!!!

[Tom7227]

I guess I haven't tried, but does anyone know how hard it is to tell a girl from a boy cougar? Maybe in the wild, but stone dead by the side of the road?

[WallyGader]

LOL ... I was thinking the same thing reading through this post, you dont need dna samples to figure out that one.

[Musky Buck]

Craziness, our group shot a mule deer in 1984 southwest of NYMills, things wander and travel. Reminds me of farmers/ranchers losing cattle to wolves, but many dnr and federal trappers would say it wasn't. If the big cat is becoming more populated to our west it would make sense to me some would travel our direction. Maybe all the Tcam's out there now will get pictures of them, apparently some are around.

[BobT]

I don't know where you are getting the idea that the DNR is denying they are in MN. Three years ago I spotted one sitting on the crest of a rise in a neighbor's field. The next day I qualified my own sighting by finding its tracks, which were a little larger than the palm of my hand.

When I contacted the DNR to ask about cougars in MN they were very up front with information. I was told that there is not a large population of cougars in MN but their numbers have been increasing. I was told of one that was tracked from the Black Hills and crossed into MN south of Grand Forks. They also sent me a map detailing all of the potential sightings over a period of years (don’t recall the time span). The number of recorded sightings on that map were over 400. They were primarily concentrated in the southeastern part of MN but the locations were scattered all over the state.

[bobbymalone]

I don't know where you are getting the idea that the DNR is denying they are in MN.

Yeah, I don't know where these people come up the DNR denial conspiracy. They have publicly stated there is a small population for years.

[Dave S]

More often than not, people report cougar sightings and it turns out to be something totally off the wall. One story even led to a CO investigating a cougar sighting and it turned out to be..............A FERAL CAT.

Other sightings have turned out to be:

the neighbors yellow lab

the neighbors golden retriever

a bobcat

All to often the DNR will respond to a call about these alleged cougar sightings only to find no evidence. On the same token, a lot of people don't know what a cougar even looks like. They hear reports from the rumor mill and must think that every other strange animal they've never seen before is a cougar.

My neighbors came over one day to claim they have a wolverine in their tree. I laughed histerically to myself and walked over to see. As soon as I got to their yard, the strange animal was now a badger. I looked, but still no animal. Finally I saw it......a woodchuck that was treed by their boxer.

Anytime the DNR downplays talk of cougars in MN, can you really blame them? If people can't positively identify what they're looking at, they don't get too worked up over it. AND NEITHER SHOULD WE.

[croixflats]

Originally Posted By: croixflats

Saw it on the news. Sad to see a loss of such a magnificent animal.

What was even more diturbing was seeing the DNR agent in pictures holding it like a trophy. Why does he need a picture of a dead couger around his neck?

It was probably really cool for him to get this call. It's interesting and out of the ordinary. I don't blame him for the photo. Why do any of us need pictures of fish or game taken. He didn't ask for or cause the death of the couger. I would have taken a few photos myself.

I figured I would get flack over that, oh well.

[kelly-p]

If I remember right that picture was someone from the Sheriff's Dept., not DNR, holding the couger around his neck.

[RumRiverRat]

well now just hold on...according to the DNR Cougars are not in this state..just cruising through or someones pet that got loose..gotta laugh on this one though..well thats if you believe your eyes and the picture was really taken in Minnesota...I'm surprised the DNR hasn't come out and said don't believe your eyes..believe us when we say.....still trying to figure out why the DNR keeps denying they exist in the state..are they afraid the local populations going to freak or what...weird.

They do not want to admit that there is a huntable population.