weary legs-

A mountain lion spotted wandering through the city on Wednesday, prompting two schools to temporarily lock their doors and keep anyone from exiting, likely originated in Nebraska.

That's according to John Erb, a furbearer and wolf research biologist at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who said the agency has been receiving reports of this cougar in Minnesota since early September, when it was spotted near Fergus Falls.


"Then we got a flurry of pictures that kind of help us loosely track it," Erb said.

Trail and security cameras captured it near Park Rapids, Wadena, Brainerd, Nisswa, Pine River, Leech Lake, Grand Rapids, Tower and finally the North Shore.

Bre Bujold saw it on Friday outside her home near McQuade Road northeast of Duluth. Bujold recorded an approximately 45-second video of it and shared it on Facebook, where it quickly spread.

"It was really cool," Bujold said, adding that as long as people don't bother the cougar, it won't bother them.

How does Erb know it's the same cat? For one, it's easily identifiable thanks to its ear tags and a radio collar that has stopped working. But Erb said the DNR is "99% certain it came from Nebraska as part of a study."

A Nebraska biologist involved in that project was confident, after reviewing some of the photos of the cat, that it was a 2-year-old male they had collared.

"They tend to be the young males that take off from the established populations and start wandering, looking for a new home," Erb said.

“ Trail and security cameras captured it near Park Rapids, Wadena, Brainerd, Nisswa, Pine River, Leech Lake, Grand Rapids, Tower and finally the North Shore.”

Those familiar with the variety of ecozones represented here will not be surprised to know that Puma concolor was once the most widely distributed terrestrial mammal in the Americas:

Take off that collar and let it be free. Looks stupid and doesn't work anyway.

I'd like to see that 45 min youtube video mentioned that Bre took, but I'm not too handy with that.

scat: "Take off that collar and let it be free. Looks stupid and doesn't work anyway."

+1
I saw a wolf with a collar and ear tag on the Tomahawk Road a few years back and that was my exact thought at the time.

This is the travel route from a radio tagged wolf that was tagged by Princeton, went east of Mille lacs than I got a photo of the animal west of Mille lacs-just south of Brainerd.



So much info is gathered, be it bear, wolves or moose. This breakthrough has had enormous benefit to human understanding and the animals future.

scat: "Take off that collar and let it be free. Looks stupid and doesn't work anyway.


I'd like to see that 45 min youtube video mentioned that Bre took, but I'm not too handy with that."

It may well be a breakaway collar that will fall off eventually. Back when I was researching bears, we included a strip of thick leather that would eventually degrade and break.

It would be interesting to see how long it took from Nebraska to where it is now time wise.

Pinetree: "It would be interesting to see how long it took from Nebraska to where it is now time wise."

For sure not an easy task walking all that distance.. Not as easy as being dropped from an airplane like the beaver Geronimo he went on 11 test jumps. youtube.com/watch?v=rrOE-m7sX9E . Extra History youtube.com/shorts/Hmk490nYa0 I see that Cougar Cubs were spotted in Upper Michigan for the first time in 100 years youtube.com/watch?v=buOh34NPffw

Caministigoyan: "

Pinetree: "It would be interesting to see how long it took from Nebraska to where it is now time wise."

For sure not an easy task walking all that distance.. Not as easy as being dropped from an airplane like the beaver Geronimo he went on 11 test jumps. youtube.com/watch?v=rrOE-m7sX9E . Extra History youtube.com/shorts/Hmk490nYa0 I see that Cougar Cubs were spotted in Upper Michigan for the first time in 100 years youtube.com/watch?v=buOh34NPffw "

you know it wasn't in a straight line either.

This wolf was flown to Isle Royale and shortly after she left via the winter ice bridge.

OgemaBlackstone: " This wolf was flown to Isle Royale and shortly after she left via the winter ice bridge."

That's pretty cool to see it's path marked out It looks like the wolf spent lots of time near the water fishing? Wolves Fishing in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. voyageurswolfproject.org/gonefishing If wolves can go fishing I can't see why Cougars can't do the same if the opportunity arose like spawning suckers in a small creek in Minnesota would present to a wandering Cougar.

marsonite: "

scat: "Take off that collar and let it be free. Looks stupid and doesn't work anyway.



I'd like to see that 45 min youtube video mentioned that Bre took, but I'm not too handy with that."

It may well be a breakaway collar that will fall off eventually. Back when I was researching bears, we included a strip of thick leather that would eventually degrade and break. "

The last 5 years I had 4*-5 different collared bears on my game camera's verified by number tags -I received info on their traveling and hibernation.
One sow I would get each year for three years, even got it with a male in June under my bird feeder presumably mating than.
Sad but shortly after someone shot it illegally about 3 miles from my house in August. They knew who did it but couldn't prove it. That sow the 2 years before had 4 cubs. Two of them got hit on a highway about a month apart.
They would usually go to the same areas in the spring-fall. Yes one was a big oak forest with acorns-now the county clear cut over 40 acres of the oaks. Gone forever-at least 60-100 years replaces by aspen.

scat: "Take off that collar and let it be free. Looks stupid and doesn't work anyway.


I'd like to see that 45 min youtube video mentioned that Bre took, but I'm not too handy with that."

Scroll down to November 29 to see images and video.

Bre Bujold post of cougar in MN

I tracked one about 0.6 miles in the snow about 10 years ago.
Their track is huge and like twice the size of a wolf.
It was interesting-just like a house cat does-it would walk up behind a tree, make a half circle than go to the next tree and do the same. Like it was sneaking up on a critter.
It was seen around for a day or so than gone.

Pinetree:"Yes one was a big oak forest with acorns-now the county clear cut over 40 acres of the oaks. Gone forever-at least 60-100 years replaces by aspen."

I don't know what the rationale would be for the county to manage land that way. This state has lots of acres of aspen, and oak provides mast and habitat for many more species.

inspector13: "

Pinetree:"Yes one was a big oak forest with acorns-now the county clear cut over 40 acres of the oaks. Gone forever-at least 60-100 years replaces by aspen."

I don't know what the rationale would be for the county to manage land that way. This state has lots of acres of aspen, and oak provides mast and habitat for many more species.


"

That is maybe my biggest pet peeve for Cass and Crow Wing county. It is for a short term gain they can say we brought in so much money for the treasurer.
Crow Wing county admitted they have cut so much aspen, for the next 10 years they won't have much to sell. so they are cutting complete stands of oak. recent sells were averaged $16.00 a cord. meaning $2.50 to $6.00 per oak tree with many trees 65-to a few 250 years old and very viable as acorn producers. A good oak produces 60-150 pounds of acorns on a banner year. The younger trees they just flatten close to my area so it was a 100% removal of all trees.
I could take you to northern Crow Wing county and connects to Cass county. 95% of the oaks have been cut for 10 miles straight along with the aspen in a 20 year period. It looks like a bamboo forest and very sterile. Deer populations crashed. The GRand Rapids wildlife biologist said once bear migrate like almost from Grand Rapids to the Longville area because of acorn crops.
Yes logging done right is good in smaller cuts and a diversified forest of mature and younger forest with more edge affect.
Most all MN DNR wildlife say after 8 years a aspen-oak cut loses most all value for wildlife.
I think County land management is the worse-than State and at least until recently the Feds were much better.
Also now loggers got such huge million dollar equipment they want large cuts all at once.

With all the second homes and cabins, I’d think Crow Wing county would be swimming in properly tax dollars.

Pinetree: "I tracked one about 0.6 miles in the snow about 10 years ago.
Their track is huge and like twice the size of a wolf.
It was interesting-just like a house cat does-it would walk up behind a tree, make a half circle than go to the next tree and do the same. Like it was sneaking up on a critter.
It was seen around for a day or so than gone."

How many times did you look behind you? Likely anything bumped would circle back to see what's following it, unless traveling directly downwind. This is how I hunt deer, only about 3 or 4 steps a minute, if that. It's thrilling to get within 30-40 yards of a deer and it doesn't know you are there, granted conditions have to be perfect and success rate is low. I don't think I have the courage to follow cat tracks.

I posted an article last spring about the Cougar cub sightings in the UP of Michigan and it didn't get much interest. Seems they have been spotted again.

Cougar cubs confirmed by DNR in the UP

Very cool. Those cubs are doing well, that is nice to see. Thx

Minnesota cats numbers chart

One of the most famous wanderers came from South Dakota’s Black Hills population and was spotted in Minnesota and Wisconsin in 2009 and 2010 before it was found dead after being hit by a car in Connecticut in 2011. In December 2023, a mountain lion roamed through Minneapolis’ Lowry Hill neighborhood. It also died after being hit by a car, on I-394.

Stupid cars…

THEGrandRapids: "

Pinetree: "I tracked one about 0.6 miles in the snow about 10 years ago.
Their track is huge and like twice the size of a wolf.
It was interesting-just like a house cat does-it would walk up behind a tree, make a half circle than go to the next tree and do the same. Like it was sneaking up on a critter.
It was seen around for a day or so than gone."

How many times did you look behind you? Likely anything bumped would circle back to see what's following it, unless traveling directly downwind. This is how I hunt deer, only about 3 or 4 steps a minute, if that. It's thrilling to get within 30-40 yards of a deer and it doesn't know you are there, granted conditions have to be perfect and success rate is low. I don't think I have the courage to follow cat tracks. "

My head has been on a swivel since the day I found Puma concolor tracks on top of one of my previous snowshoe tracks. (I hunt deer the same way, BTW, and it is a kick. Used to follow foxes for sport when I was a kid.)

Here are tracks from a few winters ago on a road we walk daily. The ”small” canine tracks are from our 50 pound Malinois: