User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 7/9/2014 9:58:25 AM EDT
[#1]
Please explain. If you go to the DNR web-site they acknowledge that there are cougars in the state and even mentioning the one in the NW part of the state that was photographed while treed. They don't think there are many on the state, nor do I, and that there is not a breeding population of them. I don't see them denying anything.
Personally I would like to see them take off the protected list and made into vermin. We don't need another predator in the state especially not one that likes eating people! |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/9/2014 10:19:13 AM EDT
[#2]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Please explain. If you go to the DNR web-site they acknowledge that there are cougars in the state and even mentioning the one in the NW part of the state that was photographed while treed. They don't think there are many on the state, nor do I, and that there is not a breeding population of them. I don't see them denying anything. Personally I would like to see them take off the protected list and made into vermin. We don't need another predator in the state especially not one that likes eating people! Well, if it only ate the stupid/fat/sick ones, it might "improve the herd". And help make the case for increased carry statewide. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/9/2014 1:43:24 PM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Well, if it only ate the stupid/fat/sick ones, it might "improve the herd". And help make the case for increased carry statewide. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Please explain. If you go to the DNR web-site they acknowledge that there are cougars in the state and even mentioning the one in the NW part of the state that was photographed while treed. They don't think there are many on the state, nor do I, and that there is not a breeding population of them. I don't see them denying anything. Personally I would like to see them take off the protected list and made into vermin. We don't need another predator in the state especially not one that likes eating people! Well, if it only ate the stupid/fat/sick ones, it might "improve the herd". And help make the case for increased carry statewide. I saw one study on cougars out west, I forget what state it was, where is showed what cougars preyed on. Buck mule deer was the number 1 prey for cougars. For some reason they killed more of them than does. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/10/2014 8:09:05 AM EDT
[#4]
I think they've been getting better lately - it used to be rather funny how enthusiastically they denied it.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/10/2014 8:48:37 AM EDT
[#5]
They used to say that people were mistaking... get this... bobcats or golden retrievers for cougars. I have seen them (mostly tracks) around since my days in Boy Scouts at Gardner Dam and Rokilio. They have been around.
I like the Baghdad Bob reference - now was Col. Klink or Sgt. Schultz the "I know nothink!" guy? |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/10/2014 9:24:18 AM EDT
[#6]
Because we the people, the hunters and outdoorsmen, who get outside much more than the college educated Wildlife Biologists, are stupid.
We don't have degrees, and aren't paid by the state, so when we see an animal or track and we know it is a cougar, or wolverine, or wolf, the DNR will say it isn't. We are too stupid to know this stuff. I have found tracks in the woods, wolf and wolverine, that could be nothing else. I even took pics of the wolverine tracks. The DNR said that there were no wolverines in the state and there was no way it could be a wolverine track. I stopped trying to give information to the DNR, just another iteration of the man, and you don't invite the man into your life. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/10/2014 11:55:52 AM EDT
[#7]
People also reports seeing bigfoots all over the state too so I don't put a whole lot of faith in people's eye witness reports without pictures. While there are a few cougars in the state I'm going with 99%+ of the "sightings" are a case of mistaken identity. People will see what they want to see and when there is a reported sighting in the area suddenly everything they can't identify becomes a cougar.
About 15 years ago there were constant reports of a black cougar (which BTW would actually be a melanistic Jaguar which couldn't survive up here and has never been reported north of Arizona) in a section west of town. Every evening cars would line up to get a glimps of the black "cougar". The "cougar was a large black lab named Saity owned by my friend and it used to like talking a stroll around the woods every couple days. We would laugh at all the reports on the radio and newspaper. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/11/2014 5:06:10 AM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I stopped trying to give information to the DNR, just another iteration of the man, and you don't invite the man into your life. This. There are Cougars in Wisconsin but I have no desire to be the guy that proves it beyond reasonable doubt for everyone else. Back in the 70's in MN we had a black bear nicknamed Cookie Monster but we all knew he was a Lab. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/11/2014 5:10:42 AM EDT
[#9]
Reelman when Labradors start climbing trees you'll have a point.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/11/2014 6:08:52 AM EDT
[#10]
I spend a lot of time in the woods up north where I've lived for 23 years. Hunting grouse, deer (gun & bow), waterfowl, turkeys, coyotes, bear, and I did a lot of snowmobiling the last 2 decades, but not so much lately. I've seen wolves, bear up close (too close), and twice have seen a moose. I have seen cougar tracks a dozen times, always in the same area. Saw the cat one time, pre-dawn but legal shooting time, from a turkey blind, at a distance of about 50 yds. I know what I saw, and I know for 100% certain they're here (well, at least one is
 ). Can I prove it? No. Did I "report" it? No. Do I care if anyone believes me? Again, No. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/11/2014 10:44:09 AM EDT
[#11]
I saw one in a pasture about 6 or so years ago in Dunn county.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/12/2014 2:59:35 AM EDT
[#12]
I had one cross the hwy in front of me just north of crivitz about 7 years ago
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/12/2014 6:42:40 AM EDT
[#13]
We have had cougar tracks in the snow on our driveway for the last couple of years. A neighbor saw what he could only describe as a cougar walking from the river up to the woods about 1/4 mile from our house. There is a professor at Stevens Point who has been tracking cougar sightings for a couple of decades. These reports were on line a couple of years ago.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/12/2014 7:28:31 AM EDT
[#14]
Have a neighbor that would qualify as a cougar, but that's as close as I've ever come to one in the wild.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/12/2014 7:34:00 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Have a neighbor that would qualify as a cougar, but that's as close as I've ever come to one in the wild. Boom |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/12/2014 9:10:39 AM EDT
[#16]
Seems like more people see cougars in Wisconsin than in Colorado or Idaho!
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/12/2014 2:00:51 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Seems like more people see cougars in Wisconsin than in Colorado or Idaho! We probably do. We are in the woods. The others are high in their moms basement. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/12/2014 3:38:29 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
We probably do. We are in the woods. The others are high in their moms basement. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Seems like more people see cougars in Wisconsin than in Colorado or Idaho! We probably do. We are in the woods. The others are high in their moms basement. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/13/2014 12:27:37 PM EDT
[#19]
Had one cross by me while setting up a deer stand in timber land between Brule and Iron River south of highway 2. Got a fairly decent view of it. Saw one cross the road while driving with my dad when I was in my teens as well. So there was about a 20 year gap between the two I've seen.
They're here and have been for quite some time. Just elusive. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/13/2014 5:51:23 PM EDT
[#20]
I'm sticking with 99%+ of the "sightings" are mis identified. A handful of cats in the state and the same people are seeing different ones year apart and 100's of miles apart? I've seen many things in the woods that I couldn't identify and if I had more of an imagination maybe I would have seen some cougars!
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/13/2014 6:29:46 PM EDT
[#21]
Those big cat's are around...treed one in Alvin 24 years ago while bear huntin...ya know before cell phone cameras and all. Don't have any credible proof but I did kill a 47# bobcat in Amberg.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/14/2014 4:02:59 AM EDT
[#22]
47 pounds?!
 That is a very big little cat.
That said, reelman of course we aren't able to track these animals and we aren't able to see them often enough that we can identify discrete individuals (they aren't hummingbirds at a feeder). Then again, the DNR isn't tracking or identifying them either, and I can't say they should (probably a waste of our money). If this were a "was that a ocelot or a jaguar" type debate you'd have more ground to stand on, but Dogs and Bobcats just do not look like mountain lions other than a few little crossovers in the Venn Diagram. Then again, I've seen dogs that absolutely would look like Ursus americanus if you saw it eating berries in a forest.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/14/2014 6:38:09 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I'm sticking with 99%+ of the "sightings" are mis identified. A handful of cats in the state and the same people are seeing different ones year apart and 100's of miles apart? I've seen many things in the woods that I couldn't identify and if I had more of an imagination maybe I would have seen some cougars! I've only seen one, I've only seen it's tracks in the same general area (not hundreds of miles apart), and a half dozens others have seen it in the same area. The others who have seen it too, are experienced hunters and know the woods. So even if I didn't see it myself, and because I've seen the tracks in the mud or snow numerous times, I'd still believe it was there. It's not some sasquatch or rural legend shown on satellite TV programs... it's an animal that once was native to WI (like wolves) and now it's back (if it ever was truly gone). I believe it's been seen more recently because the territory up north were they roam has been steadily developed bringing in more people, increasing the likelihood of human interaction. Where I live, when I moved in back in 1991, they were only two homes on my road. Now there are 6 (and there'd likely be more if there was any vacant land left), and prior to mine being built in 1980, there were none, it was just woods. No people - no sightings, more people - more sightings.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/14/2014 11:13:02 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
47 pounds?! That is a very big little cat.
That said, reelman of course we aren't able to track these animals and we aren't able to see them often enough that we can identify discrete individuals (they aren't hummingbirds at a feeder). Then again, the DNR isn't tracking or identifying them either, and I can't say they should (probably a waste of our money). If this were a "was that a ocelot or a jaguar" type debate you'd have more ground to stand on, but Dogs and Bobcats just do not look like mountain lions other than a few little crossovers in the Venn Diagram. Then again, I've seen dogs that absolutely would look like Ursus americanus if you saw it eating berries in a forest. Yup it was a very big little cat and sometimes I thing those blink of the eye sightings are indeed small cats...here's a good example...just before he developed lead poisoning. 
and after 
So it's easy to see how a bobcat could be mistaken for a big cat...they do however exist, and for the record...fear the big cat that don't fear you...he might be hungry! |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/14/2014 11:17:06 AM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
47 pounds?! That is a very big little cat.
That said, reelman of course we aren't able to track these animals and we aren't able to see them often enough that we can identify discrete individuals (they aren't hummingbirds at a feeder). Then again, the DNR isn't tracking or identifying them either, and I can't say they should (probably a waste of our money). If this were a "was that a ocelot or a jaguar" type debate you'd have more ground to stand on, but Dogs and Bobcats just do not look like mountain lions other than a few little crossovers in the Venn Diagram. Then again, I've seen dogs that absolutely would look like Ursus americanus if you saw it eating berries in a forest. You would think that a dog or a bobcat couldn't be confused with a cougar but go to Lake Link and look at the trailcamera pictures that people think are cougars. House cats, bobcats, dogs, deer , fischer, martin, etc.are all being called cougars. It's the same as people seeing musky of all sizes in a local lake by me that was lasted stocked with musky (strile tiger muskys) over 40 years ago and they still think they are seeing them there. When someone can't identify something their mind starts to make things up. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/15/2014 4:17:58 AM EDT
[#26]
I've seen one twice in Chippewa County out by Lake Wissota. Probably the same cat, saw it twice in basically the same spot over the course of a week. This was last Fall.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/15/2014 11:36:03 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Please explain. If you go to the DNR web-site they acknowledge that there are cougars in the state and even mentioning the one in the NW part of the state that was photographed while treed. They don't think there are many on the state, nor do I, and that there is not a breeding population of them. I don't see them denying anything. Personally I would like to see them take off the protected list and made into vermin. We don't need another predator in the state especially not one that likes eating people! I've seen plenty of cougars in the state. Hell, one was hitting on me last saturday night. I was frightened! Gawd the perfume they wear... |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/15/2014 4:05:42 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've seen plenty of cougars in the state. Hell, one was hitting on me last saturday night. I was frightened! Gawd the perfume they wear... Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Please explain. If you go to the DNR web-site they acknowledge that there are cougars in the state and even mentioning the one in the NW part of the state that was photographed while treed. They don't think there are many on the state, nor do I, and that there is not a breeding population of them. I don't see them denying anything. Personally I would like to see them take off the protected list and made into vermin. We don't need another predator in the state especially not one that likes eating people! I've seen plenty of cougars in the state. Hell, one was hitting on me last saturday night. I was frightened! Gawd the perfume they wear... fear the big cat that don't fear you...he might be hungry! fear the big cougar who don't fear you she may be hungry
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/19/2014 9:46:21 AM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Please explain. If you go to the DNR web-site they acknowledge that there are cougars in the state and even mentioning the one in the NW part of the state that was photographed while treed. They don't think there are many on the state, nor do I, and that there is not a breeding population of them. I don't see them denying anything. Personally I would like to see them take off the protected list and made into vermin. We don't need another predator in the state especially not one that likes eating people! It's only recently that the DNR finally admitted that we have a few cougars. For decades, they denied the sightings and said that people were mistaken. I doubt that we will ever have much of a breeding population of them, due to our cold winters and lack of caves in most areas. But it's cool to have a few running around. Hopefully the remaining ones are smart enough to not wander into IL and get shot by suburban police.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 7/21/2014 5:45:45 AM EDT
[#30]
Quoted:
Why exactly does the DNR go into 'bagdad bob' mode whenever someone has an encounter with a mountain lion in this state? What are you talking about? WI DNR |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/21/2014 5:55:59 AM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
It's only recently that the DNR finally admitted that we have a few cougars. For decades, they denied the sightings and said that people were mistaken. I doubt that we will ever have much of a breeding population of them, due to our cold winters and lack of caves in most areas. But it's cool to have a few running around. Hopefully the remaining ones are smart enough to not wander into IL and get shot by suburban police. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Please explain. If you go to the DNR web-site they acknowledge that there are cougars in the state and even mentioning the one in the NW part of the state that was photographed while treed. They don't think there are many on the state, nor do I, and that there is not a breeding population of them. I don't see them denying anything. Personally I would like to see them take off the protected list and made into vermin. We don't need another predator in the state especially not one that likes eating people! It's only recently that the DNR finally admitted that we have a few cougars. For decades, they denied the sightings and said that people were mistaken. I doubt that we will ever have much of a breeding population of them, due to our cold winters and lack of caves in most areas. But it's cool to have a few running around. Hopefully the remaining ones are smart enough to not wander into IL and get shot by suburban police. I don't ever remember the DNR saying that there weren't any cougars in the state, just that there weren't any confirmed sightings of them. Until recently there weren't any confirmed sightings and there are still very, very few sightings that can be confirmed. There are tons of sightings that can't be confirmed and that are cases of mistaken identity though. There are thousands of bigfoot sightings in the state every year but I haven't heard the DNR comment on those either. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/21/2014 12:08:52 PM EDT
[#32]
I heard a secondhand story where the DNR introduced two pairs of lions in WI near a disabled youth camp.
I've also read that there were lions on trail cams near two places I have hunted, Big Bend and Southern Kettle moraine. My friend almost hit one in Slinger. The numbers are few but not irrelevant. |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/21/2014 1:25:44 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I heard a secondhand story where the DNR introduced two pairs of lions in WI near a disabled youth camp.
I've also read that there were lions on trail cams near two places I have hunted, Big Bend and Southern Kettle moraine. My friend almost hit one in Slinger. The numbers are few but not irrelevant. The story I heard is 11 pairs of cougars. That sounds great until one realizes that cougars don't "pair up". One male will breed with as many females as possible. While there are some confirmed trail camera pictures most of them are fakes. The one I saw that was supposedly in the Southern Kettle Moraine showed a cougar stalking a deer which would be an amazingly lucky trail camera picture especially since they were in trees that don't grow in Wisconsin and it was stalking a mule deer! Plus you could see the photo shop line! Other trail camera picture were fuzzy images of house cats or bobcats. I know how can someone mix up a 8lb house cat with a 100lb cougar but when it's a single picture without and thing to context the size of the animal it's not as hard os you would think. I know there were some pictures turned into the DNR that they investigated the picture and the site of the picture and confirmed that it was indeed a cougar. Personally I think cougars should be taken off the protected list and added to the vermin list. We don't need another predator in the state, especially not one that likes to eat people! |
|
|
|
Posted: 7/22/2014 4:47:28 AM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I don't ever remember the DNR saying that there weren't any cougars in the state, just that there weren't any confirmed sightings of them. Until recently there weren't any confirmed sightings and there are still very, very few sightings that can be confirmed. There are tons of sightings that can't be confirmed and that are cases of mistaken identity though. There are thousands of bigfoot sightings in the state every year but I haven't heard the DNR comment on those either. My quote about the "Golden Retrievers" or "Bobcats" is from the DNR and was printed in the Mke J/S several years ago. I saw similar comments from the DNR in other publications at the time and in notes from at least one public meeting. Sure the "Baghdad Bob" comment is hyperbole but it is also funny as shit given the straight dismissal of all claims of cougars' presence by the public. My old co-worker's uncle is the one who followed the cougar into his barn a few years ago and the DNR got urine samples that proved it was indigenous and not a released pet - that and my coworker had damn near been ambushed by likely that same animal when at his uncle's place later that same year. Either way, YES they should be listed as vermin. |
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
