The cougar, or mountain lion, is the largest wildcat in North America. It is common in the western states, but is extremely rare in Minnesota. The DNR gets about 50 reports of cougar sightings each year, but most of these turn out to be large house cats or even yellow Labrador dogs.

Identification

General description: The cougar looks like a tan house cat, but it is larger than a large dog. Its long rope-like tail hangs nearly to the ground and then curls up again.

Length: Adult cougars are 6 to 9 feet long, including the tail.

Weight: : Adult cougars weigh 100 to 200 pounds.

Color: Cougars are usually described as "tawny" in color (tan to tan-orange).

Reproduction

Cougars mate in late winter. Females are pregnant for nearly three months. Up to three kittens may be born. Only a few cougar kittens have ever been seen in Minnesota, and they likely were from pet cougars.

Food

Cougars eat a wide range of medium-and large-sized prey, from rabbits to deer. They sometimes attack and injure horses. Cougars both ambush and chase their prey. They are the most efficient large predators in the state.

Predators

Cougars have no natural predators.

Habitat and range

The DNR has received reports of cougars from across Minnesota. But only a few reports have proven to be true. Cougars can live wherever their main prey, deer, are present.

Population and management

The cougar is a protected species in Minnesota, meaning that it cannot be hunted or trapped. It is unknown how many cougar sightings are of escaped or released pet cougars, which people can buy from game farms and legally own.

Fun facts

The cougar is extremely rare and secretive, and few Minnesotans have ever seen one. There are no reports of cougars attacking humans in Minnesota. Biologists believe that the cougars in Minnesota are wandering through from the mountainous western states.