Cougar sighting

[fishinmajishin]

Just got off the phone with a friend of mine. His brother has been out bow hunting a lot this fall and hasn't seen hardly anything. He usually has 2 deer in the freezer by now. Well, his question why has been answered today. He watched a very large cougar for about 20 minutes hunting rodents along a meadow/wooded edge. He's also noticed a drop in other wildlife in the area(porkypines,possum,fox,etc) His brother happened to talk to a neighbor who hunts within a mile of there, and that guy said he found a deer carcass in his tree stand this fall.

At this point I'm not going to say where other than central MN(about as central as you can get, too). I'll let him decide what to do as far as the DNR is concerned. He is a dedicated/honest sportsman and will not try to eradicate it himself I'm sure.

[elkrivermn]

I live in Big Lake Township and 2 years ago My neighbor saw a cougar on my acreage. the last 20 years there have been spottings of a cougar around co. road 4 & co. road 15 near the sherburne co refuge. Cougars do not like humans so they tend to stay away from developed areas.

[fishinmajishin]

This sighting is about 45 miles north of here. I guess he'll be a little bit nervous on his walk in to his stand in the dark now! Yipes!

[elkrivermn]

I wouldnt get to nervous about it, unless you provoke the bugger he is more afraid of you then you are of him. With that said you still need to keep your distance if you do see one. There are lots of them in western Canada and Cougars cause very few problems with people.I would be more afraid of pit bulls in the area and the way people drive on Hwy 10 LOL

[fishinmajishin]

I know I'd be nervous no matter what the statistics are. So does the guy need to report it to the DNR? Would they try to remove it?

[elkrivermn]

I would report it to the Dnr. It helps them keep track of the movement of the cougars. Usually if the get reports from multiple people the will check the area, looking for tracks ect. I doubt the would remove the cougar though unless it was threatning someone.

[DHanson]

It's not like there is a shortage of deer in the state. I'm pretty sure I came across one at night last year. Long story short, it was not fun. I was in a boat on a lake and the animal was on shore staring at me. Never seen anything like it. I agree about contacting the DNR.

[Neighbor_guy]

There have been cougars in the Dalbo --> Stanchfield area of Isanti County for years. The DNR does not like to addmitt to much about them. They dont want to get people all riled up.

[zamboni]

Someone down here by Fairmont got a pic of one on their trail cam. I will see if I can get a pic e-mailed to me

[elkrivermn]

There are also bobcats and lynx in Minnesota which are much smaller and sometimes people get confused between the three

[JMANN]

Why would it be eradicated?

[fishinmajishin]

I did not mean to say it would be...just stated that I'm sure the guy would not do it himself.

[fishinmajishin]

And to get another sighting might be pure luck in itself.

[Scott M]

cougar sightings...I thought we were talking about Linda Hogan

Would be nice to get some more of these sightings on trail cameras. I know the DNR is trying to get an estimate on the in-state population.

[boatfixer]

From what I understand, It has been a very long time of a confirmed lynx spotting in MN

[paul pachowicz]

we have a pretty good amount of em here in western So Dakota. We have a season on them. 35 cats until 15 females are killed. The seasons have been short because of the amount of females that are taken. Our DNR has dispatched several of them that have wondered into towns. My neighbor, 2 miles north of me saw one run across a gravel road, up a power line and it got zapped. Another neighbor 3 miles east of me had a colt get raked on the haunches by one. We heard thier cries a year ago off our back porch. A few people have killed em in thier backyards. One had the family dog in it's jaws. I live on the prairie. Friday's paper reported a Black Hills collared cat (Tom) was dispatched north of Regina, Sasket. which is a 600 mile jaunt. Another collared one was taken out in Chicago awhile back. The northwest corner of SD has several of em roamin around which have which have been confirmed sightings via paw prints in the snow. No doubt you have em in Minnesota.

[Weed Shark]

It was rare to see Bald Eagles, Canada Geese, Turkeys, Opossums, and Timber Wolves in Minnesota. Now they are common. It seems Cougars are on a similar path in our state. These days everyone has a tale. I've heard a half dozen stories, some confirmed by the DNR, in Plymouth alone.

On a side note, I saw an Opossum trapped near Park Rapids recently.

[timberghost]

At one of our local trapping meetings a few years back,[in central mn]. We ask the dnr rep if they would admit their were couger in the area. And his answer was yes. He also stated that many sightings were of peoples pets that had either gotten away or been let go, but yes their were very few and they were to be let alone. They [DNR] did not want people targeting them. Nor did they want the public going fear crazy.

They [DNR] would like to here of any confirmable sightings.

[prov1900]

I saw one years ago. They are impressive. We had another one in town a couple of years ago. It was hanging out in a tree near a school. It was "eradicated" unfortunately, but at the time it was probably the thing to do. Living next to a major river, there are a multitude of sightings. Some are confirmed, some are not.

Regardless, I like to take a flashlight with me when I go outside at night. I would prefer to see it coming

[MN Shutterbug]

He's also noticed a drop in other wildlife in the area(porkypines,possum,fox,etc)

I don't think a cougar would have the know how to be able to kill a porcupine. I believe fishers are the only mammal that know how to flip one over to avoid the quills and get at their belly.

[mcgarth]

bobcats know how to kill porkys also

[fishinmajishin]

Well last year he had quite a few around(porkys) and actually had one chase after him! This year he has seen zero. Not saying the cougar is killing them, as you're right about the fishers, but the cat's presence might just be enough.

[vister]

fishinmajishin, if you don't mind, exactly where in MN. when u say about as central mn as it gets, i wonder how close i am from there. as the jingle goes, in the middle of minnesota.

my brother watched a cat with 3 cubs cross the road in front of him, and the vet and another neighbor saw a different single, but much bigger cat by the mailbox.

if there is cubs, they're breeding, but naturally, or does the DNR have something to do with it? I saw the tracks of one in our pheasant hunting grounds in a light snow last year. is this an effort to bring down deer herds, as we hunt in a very populated deer zone, if at all an effort by the dnr?

[mrklean]

my first year deer hunting i saw cougar tracks down by Blue Earth, thing was the size of my hand, at least at that point. Have heard a number of sightings down there

[fishinmajishin]

Vister, the cat wasn't by Bertha. I'd say you're just a tad north of central, maybe even a little west My guess is the DNR has nothing to do with releasing cats.

BTW, been out on the stand? Any does hangin yet? Any buck activity after the "elder" has left the bldg?