Back in 2007 after stopping at THE WAMPUM SHOP (ALWAYS A MUST) in Mercer, Monica and I stopped to see a friend at the HEART OF THE NORTH BAR and with-in minutes he showed us two 8 x 10 photos and asked, “what would you guys say this is”? We both said, “looks like a mountain lion” and his reply was “that’s what everyone is saying except for the Wisconsin DNR. I asked where he got the pictures and was told it came from one of his trail cameras he has set-up on his property just 5 miles outside of Mercer. We were told, he showed these two pictures to the DNR, and a biologist meet him where his trail camera is located, but without scat or fur samples, told him they could not or would not confirm that it was a “COUGAR” (FOR SOME REASON THE DNR WILL NOT CALL THIS ANIMAL A MOUNTAIN LION).

Even with the pictures that clearly show it was a Mountain Lion, the DNR determined it was most likely a bob cat. I’m not an expert on the subject by any means, but I at least know a bobcat has a short stubby tail that’s maybe 6 inches long and the cat in the pictures tail compared to its body length was at least 2-foot long. The DNR had over 240 reported sightings and to my knowledge wouldn’t confirm any of these sightings. Is it possible the DNR didn’t want people to know there could be Mountain Lions in northern Wisconsin? This was obvious in 2007, because the JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT said there were 178 confirmations of Mountain Lions crossing the Midwest and were passing through Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

It took the largest wild cat in north America to be shot and killed by Chicago police on April 15^th, 2008, before the Wisconsin DNR said there have been at least 6 individual sightings in 2008 in our state and 5 in 2009. Fast forward to 2017/2018 and there were over 30 sightings with 13 being confirmed. Then in 2022, there were 7 (VERIFIED) sightings in 17 Wisconsin counties and last year there were 25 mountain lion confirmed sightings. Beginning only the first week of July there has already been 10 sightings that have been verified. The DNR said these “COUGARS” should not be considered a threat to public safety, as they are just dispersing from the Black Hill of South Dakota on their way to Connecticut.

Even with the low number of sightings, I believe these cats that can reach 220 pounds CAN BE A THREAT. Why? Because last August a boy was attacked in his yard in Colorado, a hiker was chased by a mountain lion in Oregon and a week later another hiker was confronted by a mountain lion in the same area. After two surgeries, the boy is expected to recover and the hiker that was confronted did what I guess you are supposed to do, (IF YOU ARE NOT SOILING YOUR CLOTHING) by placing his arms over his head to look bigger and started screaming. This procedure really didn’t work well because the animal kept coming closer. How close? He kicked it in the face and was lucky that other hikers with a dog came to his aid and the mountain lion ran off.

So, they are not a threat in Wisconsin? Probably not, but I believe I’m correct by saying, if it happened in other states, it could be possible in Wisconsin also.  Will you ever see a cougar, (let’s call this animal what it actually is) a (MOUNTAIN LION) in Wisconsin?  YES YOU COULD. Only seeing a bobcat maybe three times in my life in the Northwoods, I didn’t think I would ever encounter a mountain lion, but while driving 3 miles east of downtown Land O Lakes the last week of May, what the Wisconsin DNR would call a COUGAR ran across Highway B maybe 25 yards in front of our vehicle. (GOD HONEST TRUTH) Was it a big Bobcat? Unless bobcats have grown 3 feet high, and their stubby tail is now 2 feet long then we witnessed a MOUNTAIN LION that was 7 feet long.

People have asked the DNR “how many cougars could Wisconsin support”? Their answer was, “we don’t know the states carrying capacity, but it would probably be in the hundreds”. Ok, our deer population is already low, but the DNR believes, because these cougars are only crossing the state and will not make an impact on the deer population. I’ve read, so far there isn’t evidence of Mountain lions breeding in Wisconsin, because according to the DNR, there have been no female cougars confirmed here. How do they know that?

Will any of us be attacked by a Mountain Lion here in the Northwoods?  I’m thinking NO, but either did the people I mentioned above. This is my 2 cents on all of this. If you’re just walking on a trail or in the woods, make a lot of noise and this will most likely make any wildlife in the area run away from you, but to be on the safe side, I would still carry PEPPER SPRAY or a HANDGUN.