anyone ever heard of them in minnesota. My buddy says he saw a very big cat this week, too big for a bobcat. any zoo’s missing some animals, i saw the prints and it makes me not want to go bow hunting with out a side piece anymore 
I’ve heard of them in WI. A guy I work with swears he had one walk through his property.
Over the past couple years, I’ve heard several reports of them down here in Iowa and even in western Illinois. Don’t know how reliable the “eye witnesses” were but, it sure wouldn’t surprise me if there were a few around.
Hook they’re here whether we want to believe it or not. I choose to pretent they’re not. A coworker of mine lives in Randall and had one at 40yrds for 1-2 minutes early season bow hunting. It gives me chills.
I have heard of some all over the state. Most recently up near Lake of the Woods, but I know a few of the Dodge County Deputy’s and they told me that they have been called to residents for a large cat in the past. Most of the sightings have been on the Dodge/Goodhue boarder north of Mantorville.
2 years ago in South Eastern Iowa, near Washington a farmer hit a mountain lion on the highway. It made the news then quickly died out of the media…. make you kinda wonder at times.
A friend of mine seen one down by Elba in Whitewater park
last year and I saw tracks of one by Rushford two years
ago. So they are around more then we think.
I have a cousin that just moved into his new house by Oronoco, in SE MN. There is apperantly one walking the hills and river there. I guess it made an apperance at the neighbors this weekend. SPOOKY, I told him his fainting goats are going to be getting a workout. 
Okay you guy’s are scaring me. I live between Rochester and Oronoco and have a heavily wooded yard that back up to about 150 acres of heavy woods. I have some seriously HUGE paw prints in the my yard about 3 weeks ago around the corn pile where I feed the deer. I seriously thought I was just nuts and the melting snow was playing tricks on me. About a week ago I spook a large low slung long tailed creature right at dusk in the very same place. It took off like a flash I convinced myself it was a big coyote. BTW this is about 4 yards from my back door. I haven’t seen any big paw prints since tough.
I’ve heard from first hand witnesses that have seen several south of Mazeppa.
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A friend of mine seen one down by Elba in Whitewater park
last year and I saw tracks of one by Rushford two years
ago. So they are around more then we think.
That is where my buddy saw one, around elba
too bad there illegal to shoot, would be a sweet mount
I am not sure about MN but in Iowa mountain lions are not protected. The DNR doen’t recognize them as being part of the natural ecosystem so if you were to shoot one they really haven’t got anything to charge you with. I think that it would still be a good idea to contact them and let them know if you do shoot one, but it is not illegal from how I understand it.
WOW. I would think that one would show up on a gamecam at somepoint. But it sounds like that’s only a matter of time.
There has been several confirmed sightings in MN.
One was last summer – 20 miles north of Floodwood
Another one was near Eden Prairie/Chanhassen area
The report also talks about these confirmed sightings:
The following confirmed sightings of cougars have taken place in the Twin Cities metropolitan area:
• July 1996 – The image of a cougar was captured on videotape from a security camera in the Maple Grove and Plymouth area.
• April 2002 – Pictures taken by motion-sensitive cameras captured images, over a three-day period of an adult cougar at a deer kill in the Minnesota River Valley near Savage.
• May 2002 – Bloomington police shot and killed a 103-pound female cougar, which stood her ground about 30 feet from a walking path in Moir and Central parks. DNR Furbearer Specialist Conrad Christianson said he is almost certain this was the same cougar as the one spotted near Savage.
My Buddy Dave lives by Elkader Iowa and hes talked to a dnr officer there about cougars. Dave couldn’t get much information from him the officer but Dave was getting hints that they knew there was one around. Dave said it sounded like they didn’t want to spook people but that the drn knew there was one around in the bluffs and hills.
Mossy, I’m thinking the DNR don’t want the lions to get too many headlines. Sort of ‘out of mind, out of site’ kind of thing. In other words, if they don’t talk about it, people won’t be as apt to think about it.
There is one roaming around Forestville State Park and Good Earth Village area near Spring Valley,MN this past fall. A year ago my buddy and his daughter saw one going to church just south of Spring Valley off of Hwy 63.He wanted to make sure what it was so he turned around and got a better look and it was definitely a positive ID. There are cats around SE MN just as there are bears.
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My Buddy Dave lives by Elkader Iowa and hes talked to a dnr officer there about cougars. Dave couldn’t get much information from him the officer but Dave was getting hints that they knew there was one around. Dave said it sounded like they didn’t want to spook people but that the drn knew there was one around in the bluffs and hills.
I saw trail cam pictures of one one the MN side near New Albin IA. Also a woman in bow stand was unable to get down from her stand there when one watched her for about 20 minutes. I guess she was pretty shook up, and I don’t blame her 
A friend of mine also told me last week about a sighting in his back yard in Rochester. I thought he was nuts, but maybe not.
Ya I agree, keep things quiet until sure tail sighs show up with the cattle and hog farmers, how big to do get anyway #350 pounds for a older healthy one is its prime?
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