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Tracks on Pepin County farm could be cougar, DNR reports
News Release Published: June 2, 2009 by the West Central Region
Contact(s): Ed Culhane, DNR communications specialist, (715) 839-3715
Adrian Wydeven, DNR conservation biologist, (715) 762-1363
Jess Carstens, DNR wildlife biologist, Menomonie, (715) 232-1519
EAU CLAIRE – Animal tracks found near a farm family’s livestock pen this past week in Pepin County were left by a large cat, probably a cougar, biologists with the state Department of Natural Resources reported.
The prints – in rain-moistened soil - were first noticed at dawn Wednesday on a large dairy farm in the Town of Lima. The farmer said his son told him a bear had been near a large bunker silo so he checked the tracks.
He is an avid hunter who has pursued big game in the western states. He said he is familiar with cougar tracks.
“I said, “That’s not a bear, that’s cat like,’” he said, referring to the three lobes at the back of the foot pad and a stride longer than 3 feet. “We took pictures with a ruler.”
Conservation biologist Adrian Wydeven, the DNR’s leading cougar expert, examined photographs of the tracks and concluded they could not have been left by a large dog. They clearly belong to a large cat, he said. Additional photographs were taken by a DNR warden and a DNR wildlife biologist.
While the track photographs are convincing – that this indeed is a large cat – additional information is being sought to confirm if it is a wild cougar, Wydeven said.
The DNR will attempt to monitor the animal and is asking people who spend time out of doors in West Central Wisconsin to be alert for cougar tracks and other sign. Additional tracks, in addition to offering clues to the animal’s movements, could lead to the discovery of scat, hair or urine that could be subjected to DNA analysis.
DNA analysis could help biologists determine whether it is of North American origin (as opposed to a released captive, which would likely contain South American genes.) DNA tests could also determine gender and possibly the general area from which it came.
Individuals who find tracks are asked to follow the reporting procedures outlined on the DNR web pages devoted to cougar. Descriptions and photographs of tracks are posted. Whenever possible a ruler or some other object of specific length, like a dollar bill, should be placed next to any track being photographed. If possible, cover the track with an inverted pail to protect it.
Mountain lions are listed as protected wild animals in Wisconsin. This means a permit would be required from DNR before someone could kill one. If a cougar kills pets or livestock, however, it can be removed from the wild by the DNR.
Males are 80 to 95 inches in length and females measure 72 to 80 inches. The long rope-like tail is 28 to 38 inches long. Adults stand 27 to 31 inches at the shoulder. The tracks of cougars in mud or snow are usually about 2.7 to 4.0 inches in length and 2.8 to 4.5 inches in width, showing no claws. They are round in appearance and often wider than they are long.
If a cougar is located, DNR biologists would attempt to monitor it’s movements through observations and verifying sign in the wild, Wydeven said. There are no current plans to capture this animal.
