A cougar has been caught on camera in Dunn County, Wis.It's likely the same animal that left tracks last week along farmland in the village of Spring Valley, Wis., officials said. A trail camera captured a photo of the big cat Saturday night as it was walking southwest of Downsville, Wis.
On Monday, it was discovered that the cougar had killed a buck fawn. The fawn was found about 100 yards from where the photo was taken, said Jess Carstens, wildlife biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources office in Menomonie.
The partially eaten fawn had been covered with cornstalks, Carstens said, calling that a common way for cougars to hide their kills. The cougar returned to the carcass for leftovers at some point, and fresh tracks were observed Tuesday.
Carstens estimated the fawn weighed 90 to 100 pounds. The spot where the kill was found is the cougar's last known location, Carstens said.
The DNR will monitor the kill site to see if the cougar returns, said Ed Culhane, a DNR spokesperson.
The cougar appears to be moving southeast at a rate of five to seven miles per day, officials said.
Last Wednesday, a farmer in Spring Valley spotted what he believed were cougar tracks. It was confirmed Friday that the tracks belonged to a cougar, and hair samples from the site were collected for testing, said Harvey Halvorson, a wildlife biologist for the DNR.
It's not clear whether the cougar in Wisconsin is the same animal seen crossing through the Twin Cities' northern suburbs earlier this month, Halvorson said. That animal was last spotted Dec. 11 in Stillwater.
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