WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsUpdate: New Pictures of Roaming Cougar

Update: New Pictures of Roaming Cougar

Spooner (WQOW) - A rare sighting creates quite a stir in northern Wisconsin. A cougar is roaming around near Spooner.

The cat's tracks were first spotted by a property owner near Spooner on Monday.

The DNR says this is only the second one that's been confirmed in Wisconsin since the early 1900s.  A cougar was also spotted last year near Milton and was later killed in Illinois.

The DNR has treed the cougar near Spooner a few times, but has been unable to collar it. Biologists hope to eventually capture the animal and then place a radio collar around its neck before releasing it back into the wild.  The collar will help them track where the cougar travels.  The DNR says it's being careful trying to capture it because it doesn't want the cat to fall out of the tree and get seriously hurt.  The cougar is a protected species in Wisconsin.

The animal was last spotted near Cty Rd A, north of Spooner.  If you see it, the DNR is asking that you leave it alone and call its office in Spooner at 715-635-2101.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE DNR:

The Department of Natural Resources is investigating a confirmed sighting of a mountain lion this past week west of Spooner in Burnett County.

Conservation Warden Dave Zebro was contacted by a dog hunter on Tuesday, Mar. 3 who had pursued and treed an adult male mountain lion the previous day.  With the assistance of other dog hunters, a team of DNR biologists again treed the animal on Mar 4.  An attempt to capture the animal failed.

Within the next few days biologists hope to capture the animal, take a blood sample and place a radio collar around its neck. The cat will then be released back into the wild unharmed.

"With a blood sample we can do a DNA test to determine information about the origin of the animal," said Wildlife Biologist Ken Jonas, "and using a radio collar we can determine where this cat is traveling."

While trying to capture the animal DNR staff is taking steps to prevent any harm to the mountain lion.  Jonas said we are trying to use the minimum amount of immobilization agent necessary to capture the cat.  He added "we would not want to see the animal fall from a tree or be harmed because of our actions.  The mountain lions health is a primary concern."

Mountain lions are listed as "protected wild animals" in Wisconsin which means a permit would be required from DNR before someone could kill one. The public is encouraged to contact the DNR office in Spooner (715) 635-2101 if they sight this animal.  DNR officials are also asking the public to leave the animal alone.

The last known wild mountain lions, also called cougars, catamount, or puma, in Wisconsin disappeared during the early part of the 20th Century. Although reports of cougars have been received around the state over the ensuing years, none have been documented as wild cats since the early 1900s.  The first confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in the state was last January when one was spotted near Milton, Wisconsin.  That animal was later killed in a suburb outside of Chicago.

There have been several instances of captive cougars in Wisconsin escaping into the wild before recapture or disappearance. Mountain Lions have been documented in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.