Mountain lion walks within feet of Grand Forks man's northern Minnesota cabin
May 24—CRANE LAKE, Minn. — Harmon Badger of Grand Forks was opening up his cabin at Northwest Bay, Crane Lake, Minnesota for the season earlier this month, when a surprise visitor showed up in the yard one morning.
That visitor was a mountain lion — or cougar, as they're also called.
"The cat walked 5 feet from the cabin while I was making breakfast inside," Badger said in an email sharing photos of the big cat. He took several photos with his cellphone as the mountain lion was walking away.
"Never seen a cat up here before," Badger said. "Looks like we need to be on guard now with the small grandkids and dogs."
Badger sent the photos to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and received a thank you for sending. The DNR also asked for his lake address to better pinpoint the location of the cat sighting, Badger said.
"More people should know the cats are out there," he said.
According to the DNR, mountain lions are rarely seen but they do occasionally appear in Minnesota.
Here's what the DNR says about cougars on its website:
"While evidence might suggest the animal's prevalence is increasing, 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."
Badger says there haven't been any more sightings of the big cat since its surprise visit in early May.
More information about mountain lions in Minnesota is available on the DNR website at
www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/cougar/index.html
.
