Cougar in Princeton, MN

[BearGuide]

While I was out scouting for a few new bait stations my oldest brother and his son come over to my house to ride dirt bike motorcycles in my river bottom.  Then were in the tall grass heading towards the river when my brother saw a large cat.  He waved his son off to head back to the house.  He proceeded to crack his throttle and the cat layed down to hide. 

A few years ago there was a caged Mountain Lion on Green lake that he and his son when to see.  The cat help his then 5 year old son against the cage.  So he deffinately knows what a cougar looks like.

Funny thing is - I think it is probably the same cat 5 yeras later and they would be the ones to see it.

I called the St. Paul DNR Headquaters Monday.  They sent me to then Mille Lacs County DNR.  They said they would deffinately be interested in hearing about that.  The officer in Mille Lacs County said there has never been a record of a cougar in Mille Lacs before.
I told him about the cat from Green Lake.  He said it probably is a domestic cat.  They said they would not be doing anything about the preditor and that it is protected.  He did say however that if my family, livestock or pets are in "IMMEDIATE DANGER" I could take care of the animal.

The funny thing about all of this is that I was palning some Sugar Maples Saturday faternoon on a ridge and thought I hear something coming up behind me.  At first I thought it was the nieghbors three dogs.  I didn't see anything when I looked.  Then I thought maybe a fox or maybe even one of the 3 local bears.  I passed it off as nothing and went up to the house.  It was the next day that my brother sighted the cat about 100 yards from where I was.

Just an interesting story - I thought I would share it since it is so unusual.

[rchaze60]

one year when i still lived in oregon me and a buddy were deer hunting in a  old river bed and we heard a sound we both turned around to see nothing but it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck so we went to check it out and found large cat tracks up on top of the river bank we guessed the cat had to be aleast 150# by the size of tracks it left we figured it was stalking us come to find out it was a couger and the fish and wildlife found it and tagged it to follow it but that was a scary thing to be the stalkie instead of the stalker

[Outdoors Junkie]

BearGuide,

That is very interesting that a cougar would be around Princeton.  I grew up in rural Isanti, so my folks are not too far from you.

[BearGuide]

I was just telling a woman at my work about the cougar at my home in Princeton.  I bought my house from her.  She said that there had been one sited near her new home more than 10 miles south of me.