Been up north bear hunting with some family members. Don't have a tag because of preference points and drawing rules, but go anyway to help others fill their tag.
We let the striker dog loose near a small stream surrounded by Alder thickets and within a couple of minutes there was a bawl, the other dogs were turned loose and a chase was on.
Wasn't long and the treed song was in the air. Of course the youngest guy in the bunch got to the tree first and saw a light colored critter sail out of the tree, but could not quite make out what it was. The dogs were immediately in hot pursuit and were moving in a circle when they treed.
The five of us split up and came in from different directions to the tree. WOW! Up in a half-dead Oak tree was a bonafide Cougar giving us the stink-eye. We grabbed the dogs and one guy got a picture before the critter skedaddled.
We joked about having picture evidence of what happened, because the DNR wouldn't believe us without it. This just don't happen in Wisconsin.
We went back to the trucks, regrouped and let out the striker dog near an old homestead that had thickets of Hazelnuts. A bawl was heard within minutes and the other dogs joined the chase.
Son's feeder got taken out last week by a bear. One we believe to have on camera. 200lb give or take. Nothing super exciting as there's a group of guys about a mile behind us - they "guide" bear hunters and shoot EVERYTHING that's remotely bearish. I hope he lives and gets fat but I'm not betting on it.
Good question. Wisconsin has a Endangered and Threatened Species law that makes it illegal to kill a cougar.
"Species found only rarely or accidentally in the state, such as cougar and moose, may not be taken or killed."
All they'd have to do is ask you for a cat license - you can't produce one and BAM - you're done. Probably how they'd nail you for shooting a bigfoot too.
James Pepper: There's no law west of Dodge and no God west of the Pecos. Right, Mr. Chisum? John Chisum: Wrong, Mr. Pepper. Because no matter where people go, sooner or later there's the law. And sooner or later they find God's already been there.
I recently sold my land in Sawyer County. I had heard several folks talking about cat sightings but didn't know any of them well enough to know if it was BS.
Your encounter periphrastically made me think of this so I had to share it with a friend. Never fails to make me laugh:
Nice bruin,over 400# way cool, I take it no season for kitties? Or is Wisc.like all other Mid+Easteren states that say they don't exist
No season. Wisconsin DNR finally admits they are here, just no breeding pairs.
Cougars do roam. One was hit by a car a few years ago - in Connecticut. They checked his DNA and were astonished to find he was native to the Dakotas. He's traveled due east over a thousand miles, passing heaven knows how many farms, houses, and towns.