ST.PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Resources says it’s an unusual discovery but the agency reports that a large cougar was struck and killed by a vehicle Tuesday near the intersections of Interstates 494 and 35W in Bloomington.
The lion, a 115-pound male, has been taken to the DNR Wildlife Research facility in Grand Rapids where an examination will be done to determine if it’s wild and where it may have originated.
The DNR says while evidence might suggest the animal’s prevalence is increasing in the state, the number of verified cougar observations indicate that cougar occurrence in Minnesota is a result of transient animals from the Western Dakotas.
In addition, DNR annual scent-post and winter tracking surveys have recorded no evidence to suggest the possibility of a resident breeding population of cougars in Minnesota.
Although some cougar sightings in Minnesota are accurately identified, many observations from trail cameras and tracks turn out to be cases of mistaken identity. Bobcats, house cats, coyotes, wolves, fishers, and light-colored dogs have all been mistaken as cougars.
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