Security camera captures cougar video in southeast Wisconsin

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Walworth County Sheriff's Office

The Department of Natural Resources confirms that a Wisconsin homeowner captured video of a cougar near their home.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports a surveillance camera captured the big cat walking outside a Washington County home last week. The DNR said the cougar was likely traveling through.

Scott Walter, a DNR large carnivore specialist, calls a cougar’s ability to cover ground “very impressive.”

Washington County Cougar Confirmation Video footage of a large cat recorded by landowners in Washington County Feb. 7 has been verified by Department of Natural Resources biologists as a cougar. This is likely the same cougar that was recently identified in Fond du Lac County and is now out of the area. Currently, there is no evidence of a breeding population in Wisconsin. The nearest established cougar population is in the Black Hills area of South Dakota, and animals dispersing through Wisconsin are believed to originate from this population. DNR staff rely almost exclusively on the public for reports of cougars and other rare mammals. Anyone with an unusual sighting or trail camera photo are encouraged to fill out the Large Mammal Observation Form so that our biologists can work to identify the animal. A DNR news release will be sent tomorrow with more information. Posted by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Despite a handful of recent sightings, the department said cougar sightings are rare in Wisconsin.

Cougars’ nearest established population is in the Black Hills area of South Dakota. Cougars dispersing into Wisconsin likely originate from there, according to wildlife experts.

Walter said in one instance, DNR agents tracked a cougar at least 1,800 miles from northeastern Wisconsin to the East Coast.

Message from the WI DNR regarding cougar: NEWS RELEASE

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

101 S. Webster St,… Posted by Walworth County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, February 14, 2018

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