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.





Uncle Joe had a tag.

Nice!

Always wanted to do a dog hunt - bear or cat.

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.

The cougar pic is great.

Nice bear, and the lion was lagniappe!

Congratulations on a fine bear. The cougar made an extra special icing on the cake.

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

Good Bear, have lots of them here but need like 14-16 points to draw, one point a year! nice cat pic, buy we all know theres no big cats up here!

Had to look that up.

No season. Wisconsin DNR finally admits they are here, just no breeding pairs.

Yes - a government agency believes in immaculate conception.

Depending on the zone you need a minimum of 7 or 10 points. Currently I have 6 preference points.

Wayne,
That is WAAYYYYYYY cool. Nice to have some visual proof for our conservation agency.

Really nice bear for Uncle Joe too!

Looks like Python Purple Cow ear tags that the dogs are wearing, hard to beat for ticks....

Good eye, by golly, I think you are right.

Now that's a helluva day! Well played!

Regarding Mtn Lion, ask yourself -- given the choice, does any healthy mature critter live where there are no mates?

Usually not.

You are right to a certain extent, however some go looking for love in all the wrong places.

Nice bear.. If cats don't exist there, how could you be in the wrong for taking 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.

That had to be one exciting day! Congrats all the way around!

I envy you... That must have been a great time.

Nice bear! May I ask what county, or group of counties, this Mtn Lion was in?

Great job, hunting with hounds is an awesome way to hunt. My favorite!!

Sawyer County

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:

Must be nice

LOL, that was a great story. There was a lot images that came through it.

Thanks for sharing

Neat pics, looks like a good time!

Wow, WI. has both 2 and 4 legged cougars. Well, maybe that is a little premature.

Wow that's awesome.

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.