MADISON, Wis. (AP) - 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.”
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.
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