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DNR: Cougar likely is wild

MILTON — Apparently, the cougar roamed a long way from home.

The cougar seen near Milton is more than likely “completely wild”—as opposed to someone’s loose pet—and traveled here from the South Dakota area, the state Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday.

That conclusion is based on genetic testing that indicates the cougar seen in January east of Milton is a male of North American origin, DNR wildlife supervisor Doug Fendry told WCLO Radio. DNA was obtained from blood left by a cut on the cougar’s foot after it ran from an old barn.

“The Milton cougar is of North American origin, and based on genetically sampled local populations is most similar to South Dakota cougars,” DNR mammal ecologist Adrian Wydeven said in a statement. “But because not all cougar populations have been adequately sampled, it could still be from some other population in North America.”

No component of South American origin was found in the cougar’s genetics, which would have indicated a cougar of captive origin.

“While the genetics of North American origin and possible connection with South Dakota cougars does not eliminate the possibility of captive origins, it does make it more likely that the cougar is completely wild,” Wydeven said.

The animal might have wandered to Wisconsin from a western location, including the Black Hills of South Dakota or western Nebraska, where the closest breeding populations exist, he said.

Such an incident is not that unusual, Fendry said. Wisconsin’s neighboring states also have seen dispersing male cougars from South Dakota, he said.

The U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Mont., also examined a hair sample found March 7 close to some cougar tracks near Elkhorn. The hair sample turned out to be from a domestic cat, the DNR said.

“The tracks at the (Elkhorn) location were still adequate to indicate a cougar had been in the area,” Wydeven said. “The hair sample was just not from this cougar, and although we were unable to demonstrate genetically that the Elkhorn and Milton cougars are the same animal, at this point it seems to be the most logical assumption.”

The Milton cat is the first confirmed cougar in Wisconsin since 1908.

Knowing the cougar’s origin won’t change how the DNR will continue to monitor movements and observations of possible cougars in southern Wisconsin, Fendry said.

“Since this is a wild cougar and just apparently traveling through the area, we really haven’t made any decision that this is something we should try and capture and maybe put a radio transmitter on,” he said.

Such an action could be considered if more sightings are made in the future, he said.