Cougar in Wisconsin Looking for Turkey Dinner?

[charlie elk]

cougar-071812.jpg (23.76 KiB) Viewed 1278 times

The reason I ask; this cougar was photographed on the 15th by a trail cam in Buffalo County between Mondovi and Gilman, I have been seeing a lot of poults there. Cats like birds. So I assume they'll love turkeys!
In any case with all the bears, wolves, coyotes, rattlesnakes and now cougar; it is getting down right interesting around here on that dark early morning walk to a gobbling turkey.
Who will shock gobble first the hunter or the gobbler?

The full WDNR press release is here kitty kitty

[gooseberry]

Please keep them away from PA. Scary!

[ticklishtompro]

It is ironic, the WDNR used to say there were no cougars in WI. At least they admit it now!

[kygobbler]

This reminds me of the discussion we had last year about cougars. If I remember correctly there are no cougars east of the Mississippii River and if they are then they are "tame" cats that someone released in the wild. It seems every year there are more photos of these boys showing up were they are not wanted. I just hope I never run into one the woods because I never do pack any extra boxers with me.

[grizzly]

It's kinda funny the way the DEc reacts to such reports . awhile ago here we had reports of a cougar running around . even some pictures were snapped . the DEC insurred us that there was no way a cougar was in the area and people were just mistaken . a couple months later a cougar was hit and killed in the road in Vermont and it was tagged . It showed that had came from out west and had traveled across N.Y threw our area . so i guess it just goes to show that when you're out in the woods you just never know what you may run into...wayne

[Gopherlongbeards]

turkey hunting with cats around really isn't that big of a deal. Where we hunt in the black hills its pretty common to find cat tracks or scat, and I'm sure some have come in to check out our calling set ups. During the fall and winter lion season one of the most popular methods is to call cats in (hunting with dogs is illegal), and a lot of hunters use turkey calls to attract cats. We have found several turkey kills over the past few years that a cat had been at (whether or not they were responsible for the initial kill). Last year there were several cats taken within a few miles of where we hunt, and several more sighted. I've never seen one while turkey hunting, but its always in the back of your mind on those early morning walks in the dark.

A couple years ago I saw a roadkill cougar on I94 between Eau Claire and Black River Falls.

[charlie elk]

a lot of hunters use turkey calls to attract cats.

That is interesting to know.

Occasionally here in WI wolves, coyotes and fox have come charging into my turkey calls. Judging by the posts on these boards other hunters have had the same experience.
While hunting out west we meet up with cougars quite regularly, so far they have been more surprised than us and quickly ran away, I think, they at least ran out of sight. Out in the open spaces of the West cougars are great. In a developed state like WI not so much.
Personally I expect the Ag interests in WI will soon make sure cougars ( not the Madison bar's late night ladies) are shot on sight, like with wild hogs. With only a few cougars here, there have already been 2 cows killed in southern WI and few injured in Spring Valley and Durand. Apparently in Iowa they are kind of viewed as an invasive species with no protection at all.

When I came back here and saw the "Blonde Raccoon" thread I started to wonder where the discussion was going.