I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseam, but I'm wondering if cougars are becoming more prevalent in WI, or is the popularity of trail cams more widespread? At least they couldn't brush the Fond Du Lac County sighting off as a big house kitty. Side note: New member here, thanks for the educating discussions on this forum.
I saw 2 cougar many years ago in NE Iowa while deer hunting and they are legal to shoot there. Unfortunately it happened so fast it was impossible to even get a shot.
Anywhere in Wisconsin is possible to have a legit cougar sighting.
"If a cougar approaches, make noise and throw rocks or sticks."
I remember a California couple who were attacked at a state park that I had just visited. It was biting him on the back of the neck and he told his wife to get a pen from his pocket protector and jab its eyes out. Worked - cougar left and man was saved. Nerds rule.
ground hunter, you mean some grown man got offended by the other definition of a "cougar"? So nobody can have fun these days I guess because one person is offended. We're doomed.
A number of years ago a friend took some casts of lion tracks from his son' farm around Hollandale, Wl. Cat tracks all over by a water hole. We were at a DNR meeting and he presented them to them and told them they were cast from the Hollandale area. Impossible he was told. He said come down and I'll show you. No need to come down as they don't exist in this state. He then asked them, if they don't exist why is it illegal to kill something that doesn't exist? About blew my coffee. That winter the first confirmed lion was from that area.
An executive at work has a place in SW Wisconsin (can't remember the county) who showed me a trail cam pic of a cougar with a rabbit in it's mouth crossing his driveway.
This is a serious matter . We need all the Orgs in the state to unite & put the heat on the DNR to declare war on the big cats . Open season year around .
We are the predators. We don't another & this one is scary . I lived in Big cat country for 16 years . I foynd many cat kills partially eaten & 1/2 buried . Every dead Deer was a large buck . Big Bucks are slower & arrogant enough to turn & fight .
2, When cats age they hunt pets , horses , Cattle , & humans . I know 2 prople that were killed in our hunting area out west . 1 jogger. 1 hunter . Both had a cat sink its teeth into their back shoulder & use its rear legs to shred the victums clothes, skin, & guts . Think your tougher than a cat ? Go to a dairy barn & try to pick up a 2 lb barn cat . It will kick your ass .
If we don't kill them all it will be a bigger nightmare than the Wolves .
Was trailed by one in Colorado a few years back. Sightings in Iowa county as well near a farm I hunt. Confirmed sightings of a large bear just North of Richland Center as well.
We have a female down in southeast wi. I wish Crusader was on more often. I do quite a bit of shed hunting in the area it roams. Not far from where Shane hunts. Tweed, you probably know. Talked with a few land owners in the area who have either seen them or have seen their tracks. One older woman went into her horse barn and there she was with her kittens. The lady turned around and called her son. They went back in the barn 10 minutes later and she was gone. The dnr confirmed that it was in fact a cougar. But I guess the officer said it was most likely a male? Whatever? Over the last 3-4 years people have been seeing them. Word travels pretty fast on that topic. I have never cut a track down here with all the walking I do. I'm sure they do travel long distances.
Did see one two years ago in blackriver falls area driving. Also have about the same feeling as ruger..
From about nine years ago. Cougars have a much higher value when rural kids and animals are on the potential menu. I'm sure that it'll be the same when the wolves get here.
Raspy Old hen, I guess Iowa allows killing cougars simply because they are not listed in the regs as a protected animal. They don't have many and are not considered native to the state that is probably part of it. Iowa is seriously farmer friendly with all sorts of farms everywhere so cattle farmers would not be too happy with a cougar around. If they had any wolfs there they would probably find a way to make them legal too. Actually wolf might currently be legal there if they are not listed as protected. There was a cougar killed by a hunter in Iowa maybe 4 years ago. He was deer hunting and the cougar was in a tree giving him a golden opportunity.
well I might be different,,,,,, I am not wolf lover that is for sure, but I will tolerate wild things in wild country, if there is management....As for the few cougars that are in the state, why would you kill it,,,,,, I think the element of a predator of that stature, makes the big woods that more wild and exciting......
are they dangerous, sure they are, but I like knowing, that they are in wild country, keeps your edge on
for the record, if there were enough, and you could hunt them, I would be the first to sign uip, with the dogs..... speaking of that, my buddies that are bobcat hunting now, said, that one day, they may end up treeing a lion, which they thought would be cool
Groundwater- I'm not calling for exterpation. I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of those around me. Most of those who vote and donate for zero management of these apex predators freak out about any presence in their own neighborhood... Which is "part of the historic range" of these animals.
Three to seven times the population goal for wolves in WI? Still not enough. Healthy population of mountain lions in CA? Send money to end hunting anyways.
But not in their backyard.
My hunting partner is a cop. You would not believe the expectations of a limousine liberal when their froo -froo slipper dog gets eaten by a coyote. Or the number of 911 calls that come in when a coyote is spotted simply wandering through.
Some of the pro-wolf idolatry around here will be toned down once they get here and snack on a few coiffed, fluffy pets with jeweled collars and bows. Rod Coronado etc will be getting fewer checks.
ground hunter - The liberal stronghold adjoining the town where my buddy works has a policy for their affluent citizenry that every call requires an officer dispatch response and contact. Can you imagine that?
"Yes ma'am. You saw a coyote. It ran through the yard? Did it have any distinctive markings? Which direction did it go? We're calling up the SWAT team now."
I have a neighbor who ran a cable about seven feet off the ground from the back of his house to a tree at the back of his lot line, maybe 150 feet away. He would clip a long lead on it so that his little dog could be on a run without requiring his attention. Another neighbor and I repeatedly warned him about coyotes in the neighborhood. Sure enough, the dog got lunched. He was able to pull the dog away form the coyotes using the lead. He took it to the vet who completely raked him. The vet charged him $3000 for emergency care and then informed him that the dog's back was broken and it'd have to be put down... for another $150.
One of my other neighbors just informed me last weekend that the genius just lost another bow-wearing, drier lint dog.
But... even his crazy, PeTA loving wife is expressing a desire to kill the coyotes.
I really think the key to getting wolf seasons back is to get wolves into urban areas. A few dogs as casualties. The young progeny of a few trust funders being diagnosed with Hydatid disease. A few wealthy metrosexuals demanding a wolf tactical squad...
My neighbor in Washington County told me two years ago that a cougar was sunning itself along his tree line in the back yard. Rural part of the county - watched it through his deer rifle scope. Don't think he reported it..
Orion - Typical when the shoe is on the other foot. I've always said it's easy to condemn the killing of wolves/coyotes when you don't live in wolf/coyote country. There was a call up here on a nuisance bear one summer. When the warden arrived he couldn't find anything disturbed, and asked what the problem was. It turned out the people saw a bear in their yard. You just can't fix stupid.
What, for me, is an interesting side story; My wife and I saw a mountain lion North of Spooner. We reported it and received the "Dog." "Bobcat." "Domestic Cat." "Deer" treatment.
I didn't appreciate the "You're an idiot" treatment, but because of my hunting partner, I have some glimpses of what LEOs deal with daily and can understand that COs have plenty of the same kind of contacts... especially with FIBs.
It wasn't like I requested that anyone do anything about it. I just wanted to report it because, at that time, the DNR's position was that there were no cougar in WI.
Orion - I remember that well as Spooner is just NW of me. I heard a contradiction that the DNR called off the chase, but was told it was the hound hunters that said they were not going to run it again as the cat was too stressed.
Pretty sure that the news article in the Hayward paper also said that the hunters called it off, said enough was enough, the cat was stressed and the DNR were jerks about the whole thing.
Video of a cougar in Wisconsin at this link. It is a little ways into the video.
Also Manitowoc Minute is a fun facebook page to follow, he does videos like this about once a week. Not for Bear fans tho. He is doing in person comedy performances around the state, see his web site for more info about them, I went to the one in La Crosse, it was great. Sold out the venue that seated over 1000 people. Most ever for an event at the UW Lacrosse. I strongly recommend getting the VIP tickets for the few extra dollars.
Seriously, Cougars are not that big of a threat. In fact, not a seriously threat at all, never will be!
From Wikipedia. "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 snake bites, fatal lightning strikes, or fatal bee stings."
The link has a list of all Cougar attacks up to 2011 and other info. BC
