Cougars sighted in Northern Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday said biologists have confirmed two cougar sightings in northern Wisconsin in recent months - the first confirmed so far in 2014.

The cougars were photographed with trail cameras on private land in Lincoln and Marinette counties. They follow a string of such observations since 2008.

The big cats disappeared from the state in about 1910, but a study in the Journal of Wildlife Management in 2012 reported cougars have spread across the Midwest landscape in recent years.

The study showed 178 cougar confirmations in the Midwest and as far south as Texas between 1990 and 2008.

While confirmed sightings of Midwestern cougars were sporadic before 1990, when there were only a couple, the number spiked to more than 30 by 2008, the study found.

In the latest cases in Wisconsin, the cougars in fact could be the same animal, according to David MacFarland, a wildlife biologist with the DNR, since the respective locations were about 90 miles from each other in a straight line.

"It is very possible that a cougar could have covered the distance in that amount of time," MacFarland said.

In the first case, a cougar was sighted in Lincoln County, east of Merrill, on July 30. An absentee landlord did not see the image until Sept. 5, MacFarland said.

In the second case, the cougar in Marinette County was photographed with a trail camera on Sept. 1 near Middle Inlet, north of Crivitz, and reported to the DNR on Sept. 30.

In both cases, personnel from the DNR visited the sites, inspected the images, interviewed the landowners and concluded that the photos were legitimate.

The DNR received 240 reports of cougars in 2013, according to agency figures. Eight of the reports were confirmed as probable and three were verified.

Verified sightings were in Bayfield, Ashland and Florence counties.

The DNR was not able to obtain any genetic evidence in most cases, but based on past work, the cougars are believed to be males that left the Black Hills region of western South Dakota looking for a mate.

"There is no reason to believe we have a breeding population in the state," MacFarland said.

There has been no verified evidence of predation on pets or farm animals in Wisconsin, he said.

"For people who might be nervous about having cougars in the area, the indications are that they are spending little time in any one place," MacFarland said.

In the most notable case in Wisconsin, a cougar seen in 2009 was the same cat that was killed by a motorist driving an SUV on a busy highway in Milford, Conn., in June 2011.

A DNR biologist said then that the cougar's trek from its first confirmed sighting in a Minneapolis suburb to a densely populated corner of Connecticut represented a record of straight-line movement for a cougar - 1,055 miles.

The DNR has a website devoted to cougars and rare animal sightings, which includes a form for reporting rare animals.