Hi Lon, I just wanted to tell you about the Minnesota DNR and the so-called cougar non cover-up. Back in 1995 I lived in Rush City, Minnesota, about 3 and a half miles south of town. We had 90 acre's of back woods with a few swamps here and there. And also I'm a deer hunter so I know the woods like the back of my hand, and I walked the entire 90 acre's looking for any sign's of deer well before the season starts. Trust me when I say I know animal tracks, and we have a large assortment of animals living in these woods, from mice to bears. Well one day in June of 1995 I was just out for a slow walk through the woods just enjoying the sights and sounds of what the Minnesota back woods have to offer. And like always I pay attention to tracks when ever I spot one, and this one caught my eye right away. It was a cat track...a "BIG-CAT" track, with only four paws and no claw marks what so ever. So I always carry a bag of plaster and a thermos of water and also a container for mixing the plaster, I always carried these with me in case I came across a large bear track or of some other critter that stands out from the norm. Well I cast the big cat track, which was a lot bigger than a Bobcat or Lynx track. This track was around 41/2" inches across, and these where the first Cougar tracks I had spotted in our back woods. All in all there where about 3 visible tracks in this small patch of bare ground, and one track really stood out, so this was the one I made a cast of. And I headed back home with my special cast I had just made of a cougar. I called the DNR as soon as I returned home, and they put me in contact with the Hinckley DNR office, which has been closed down now for about 8 years. But I talked to a Game Warden who happened to be in the office at the time I called, I explained to him my finding of the cougar tracks and he said he would swing by and take a look at them, and he also asked what time I get off work, so I told him about the time I get home. Well they just happened to drop by when I was still at work, ( go figure ) and talked to my wife, they wanted to see the plaster cast I had made of the so called cougar track, well they told her it was a bear track, and took my cast with them and said they would return it in a few days. Guess what, they never did, and they told my wife not to tell anyone about the track because it would just get the public unsettled. I was so upset when I got home...a bear track I thought, how dumb did they think I was, a bear track is bigger and has five clawed toes not four unclawed. So that's when I knew the DNR was trying to cover it up. And I have never called them again to report a cougar track, and I've seen a lot of them over the past few years. Dan Roth,...P.S. Lon you may post this if you wish. And Thanks for the great reading you give to us all.
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NOTE: I have received several similar inquiries to the lack of confirmation by various DNR's throughout the United States...in particular Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. I can understand that these agencies do not want to start a panic and stir a rush of sightings...but there does need to be assurance given to witnesses that their reports are taken seriously...Lon
