Cougar sighting leaves questions
The big cat that fled a farmer's hayloft near Milton in Rock County on Jan. 18 left behind enough tracks, blood and urine to confirm it's a cougar, and its mother hails from North America. But its presence reveals little else about itself or the species' future in Wisconsin.
All that's certain is when Milton resident Kevin Edward-son spooked the cougar from Randy Hookstead's old barn that day — and led state biologists to its tracks and body fluids — he provided proof of the state's first cougar in about 100 years.
As of Tuesday, however, we didn't know its sex, age, birth site or the home continent of its father. Those questions might have answers. Larger questions, like whether Wisconsin again will be home to a self-sustaining cougar population, are less certain.
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