From the La Crosse Tribune - A wild beast said to be a panther has been terrorizing residents in the southwestern part of Eau Claire County and the northeastern portion of Pepin County. Some of the farmers upon waking up mornings find that some of their sheep and young stocks and calves have been devoured. A farmer's son was followed for a short distance.Chad's Take:
What a timely story! Here we have a case of a strange animal terrorizing Eau Claire County. The newspaper wrote that is was thought to be a panther (also known as a cougar, mountain lion, or puma depending on the region of the US). For years I have been receiving reports from witnesses who claimed to have seen a cougar in WI. Witnesses have sent me photos of tracks, hair, and photos of blurry animals all claiming to be cougars. Of course every time I talked to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources they scoffed at me and I was informed that cougars are no longer roaming in WI. Their position has changed a little now that a cougar was recently treed in Wisconsin and shot with a tranquilizer (it escaped) and numerous definitive photos of it were published in the media. We can now rest assured that at least one cougar is roaming the countryside of Wisconsin.