OUTDOORS
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Saturday, October 20, 2007
Hook and Bullet Club - Cougar!
by Nick Wognum Ely MN
The shape of a cougar can be seen in the grass up on Lake Three.
In these parts you might see a variety of animals in the woods: deer, bear, moose, wolf, marten, mink, fisher, squirrel, chipmunk, even porcupine. But for a family paddling through Lake Three this summer the animal was not a common one.
"It was the last week of July. We were enjoying taking pictures of two loons playing in the water in front of us, so my camera was out," wrote Mary Stalnaker.
"The animal walked into view, stopped for a moment and looked right at us. He then leapt into the grass, ran very quickly through the grass and into a wooded area. It all happened really fast.
"I was actually taking a picture of something else when the noise of his movements caused me to turn the camera to him. My husband got a much better look than I did as I was too busy trying to take a picture. The animal was very large in the shoulders, was thick, light in color and fast.
"We are absolutely certain it was not a deer or moose. We do not think it is a wolf. It's size tells us it is not a lynx or bobcat. A doctoral student doing a study in the area indicated it could not be anything else but a cougar, given the tail, curve of the body and ears. I did not mention cougar when I sent him the picture.
"I also had a friend (I live in Colorado) who hunts mountain lions in Colorado and is a taxidermist. He seemed completely skeptical as to a cougar sighting in Minnesota. When he saw the picture he also said he was positive it was a cougar. He indicated a wolf's ears are very different, as is the body shape. He has stuffed these animals."
A cougar in the BWCAW? Very likely now that the DNR believes there is a cougar population of some sort in the Ely area.
Are these wild cougars who walked in from out west? Doubtful. More likely is the believe that these cougars started out as pets and were released into the wild. The original cougars were likely declawed and survived without that natural weapon. But once a female and male met up in the woods, the next batch was fully equipped.
Mary continued, "It has been a lot of fun sharing the photo with people and getting their thoughts. We laugh when we hear it is a deer. We love the BWCAW and enjoy sharing the wilderness with any animal. Yes, they can kill people. So do a lot of other things.
"I think it is very cool that these animals could be in the BWCAW. I have hiked throughout the mountains of Colorado for 20 years and always hoped to see one (from a distance) It was a real thrill have spotted one in my home state of Minnesota. Obviously, we are quite convinced it is a cougar."
Two weeks ago I had a small animal on my camera - all gray with one white leg. This was a cat as well, although not quite the same as the one seen up on Lake Three.
The one that passed by the trail camera looked more like a housecat who had turned into a feral cat, living in the woods.
This is not a house cat's natural habitat, but with claws they can adapt quickly and be deadly. Grouse and other birds are easy prey as well as everything from flying squirrels to snowshoe hares. For many hunters, a house cat in the woods is an unwanted species and a candidate for removal by all means.
As for cougars? Again, an animal out of its natural habitat. Not that long ago there was a horse attacked by a cougar between Ely and Winton and other numerous cougar sightings have been reported. With the wolf population on the rise, another predator in the woods doesn't bode well for species having a difficult time right now, including the moose.
What can be done? Outside of banning people from having pets, not much at this point. But if a hunter sees a cougar walking by, what will the reaction be? If the population continues to grow, that situation is likely to occur if it hasn't already.
There have been issues raised in the past with dogs chasing deer in the woods and there seems to be a strong agreement on resolving that issue. Will it be the same for a cougar chasing a deer?
Stalnaker threw in what she termed "one additional fun fact."
"I called my son on the way home (We live in the mountains of Colorado) to tell him we went into a swampy area as the sun was setting looking for moose, but saw a cougar.
"He laughed as he told me he saw the moose we were looking for... on I-70 on his way to Denver (a very unusual sighting for Colorado)."
Keep your eyes open when you're in the great outdoors - you never know what you might see.
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Topic: Cougar in Ely area? (Read 2293 times)
