NOTE: IN ORDER TO BETTER SEE PHOTOS IN THEIR FULL 1600 PX. RESOLUTION, VIEW THEM IN THE ALBUM FORMAT BY CLICKING ON THE LEAD PHOTO OR ANY PHOTO IN THE POST. This is especially true for landscape shots. Thanks to Mark for the idea of adding this alert so the photos can be seen at their best!

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Cougar Sightings in Wisconsin

I'm sure this isn't national news, but there have been 5 confirmed cougar sightings in Wisconsin since December.  The DNR is pretty sure that the recent sighting in Brookfield as well as the others are the same cougar, a young male looking for new territory which would require a mate and food source.  To their knowledge there is no breeding female here.  First a fox sighting, then a wolf sighting, will a cougar sighting be next? Guess I better be alert on the trails as I travel around the state and not just assume I am seeing dog tracks - and maybe start carrying my hiking stick just in case!  Seriously though, the risk is small to a grown adult, only 13 people have been killed in the last 100 years in all of North America.

hiking last week near on IAT in Monches, about 20 miles
from most recent cougar sighting - all I saw was deer tracks 


If you click on this Wisconsin DNR link and then click on the sightings tab you can get access to a list of the confirmed sightings accompanied by photos.  I'm not going to be hiking in Wisconsin for the next week and a half because by the end of the week I will be hiking in the Seattle area!!

2 comments:

  1. Sorry the title made me smile. Must be odd seeing animals like that in the wild near you, people around here get in a panic when a wolf get loose from a sanctuary they think it's going to run around killing everyone. Biggest thing we see is a Fox

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  2. I love this. The Eastern Cougar was just recently declared extinct despite people I know in the mountains of Virginia who are certain they have seen one. It makes me so sad. What is wrong with us as a species I ask myself and now I read that Wisconsin may still have cougars. I'm thrilled. Can't thank you enough for brightening my day. Hiking near Seattle, boy you definitely get around.

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