BLANCHARDVILLE - The confirmed sighting of a cougar just north of Milton in Rock County recently underscores a trend that has replicated itself among other species of wild critters in Wisconsin.
Iowa County residents have observed black bears inhabiting some of the more remote sections of the county and otters have invaded small private fishponds to feast on trout, panfish and crustaceans in an ever-widening geographical distribution.
Now, at least one timber (gray) wolf has entered the area, based on sightings at Yellowstone Lake State Park and several clear photos of a wolf taken by rural Blanchardville resident Kate Cassidy.
Assistant Park Manager Steve Thomas observed tracks of an animal resembling those of a wolf within the park on Feb. 1. Thomas saw the tracks while grooming ski trails.
After getting off his machine for a closer look, he determined they had all the earmarks of a wolf.
"Just the way they tracked," he said, "a wolf will place its hind foot right on top of the track left by the front one."
Having spent part of his career at Copper Falls State park, Thomas feels confident about the identification.
The next sighting occurred the following week when he noticed a dead deer on the west end of the lake and a wolf milling around the area.
"I watched it feed on the deer, then go lay down for awhile. Then it would come back again to feed," Thomas said.
The sightings by park staff at Yellowstone gained credence when Kate Cassidy captured what appears to be an adult wolf on camera along County Line Road in rural Blanchardville.
"It looked like it was playing with the dog behind the house when I first saw it," Cassidy said. "I was shocked at first. Then I realized I had the camera on the table, and I got the pictures as it took off."
One photo caught the wolf in full stride on the other side of a barbed wire fence. The Cassidy photo shows an animal with the classic characteristics of a wolf - long legs, tufts of hair on the cheeks and black coloring at the tip of the tail. The Cassidy home is located approximately three miles from Yellowstone Lake.
The closest wolf pack to this area is located in Adams County, Thomas said.
"It's quite possible one would travel that far," he added.
According to DNR files, a wolf radio-collared in Minnesota traveled more than 500 miles to Saskatchewan, Canada over a ten-month period. Another traveled from Wisconsin to Indiana before being killed crossing a highway.
Wolves once roamed the entire state until European settlement began in the 1800s. Hunting led to the disappearance of food supplies such as deer, elk and buffalo in southern Wisconsin, and the state established bounties on wolves to protect farm livestock from predation.
By 1960, wolves had disappeared from the Wisconsin landscape, leaving only Minnesota and Isle Royale in Michigan with the only known wolf populations in the lower 48 states.
By the mid-1970s, however, a few wolves had migrated back into northern Wisconsin from Minnesota, and the DNR established a wolf recovery plan with a goal of 100 wolves. Approximately 550 animals comprise the current population in the state.
Once listed as a threatened species in Wisconsin, the wolf has been delisted at both the state and federal levels. However, repeated lawsuits challenging the ruling have kept the wolf's status in limbo. While delisted, the wolf would still have protected status, but with a DNR management goal of 350 animals.
- Lee Fahrney can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
Iowa County residents have observed black bears inhabiting some of the more remote sections of the county and otters have invaded small private fishponds to feast on trout, panfish and crustaceans in an ever-widening geographical distribution.
Now, at least one timber (gray) wolf has entered the area, based on sightings at Yellowstone Lake State Park and several clear photos of a wolf taken by rural Blanchardville resident Kate Cassidy.
Assistant Park Manager Steve Thomas observed tracks of an animal resembling those of a wolf within the park on Feb. 1. Thomas saw the tracks while grooming ski trails.
After getting off his machine for a closer look, he determined they had all the earmarks of a wolf.
"Just the way they tracked," he said, "a wolf will place its hind foot right on top of the track left by the front one."
Having spent part of his career at Copper Falls State park, Thomas feels confident about the identification.
The next sighting occurred the following week when he noticed a dead deer on the west end of the lake and a wolf milling around the area.
"I watched it feed on the deer, then go lay down for awhile. Then it would come back again to feed," Thomas said.
The sightings by park staff at Yellowstone gained credence when Kate Cassidy captured what appears to be an adult wolf on camera along County Line Road in rural Blanchardville.
"It looked like it was playing with the dog behind the house when I first saw it," Cassidy said. "I was shocked at first. Then I realized I had the camera on the table, and I got the pictures as it took off."
One photo caught the wolf in full stride on the other side of a barbed wire fence. The Cassidy photo shows an animal with the classic characteristics of a wolf - long legs, tufts of hair on the cheeks and black coloring at the tip of the tail. The Cassidy home is located approximately three miles from Yellowstone Lake.
The closest wolf pack to this area is located in Adams County, Thomas said.
"It's quite possible one would travel that far," he added.
According to DNR files, a wolf radio-collared in Minnesota traveled more than 500 miles to Saskatchewan, Canada over a ten-month period. Another traveled from Wisconsin to Indiana before being killed crossing a highway.
Wolves once roamed the entire state until European settlement began in the 1800s. Hunting led to the disappearance of food supplies such as deer, elk and buffalo in southern Wisconsin, and the state established bounties on wolves to protect farm livestock from predation.
By 1960, wolves had disappeared from the Wisconsin landscape, leaving only Minnesota and Isle Royale in Michigan with the only known wolf populations in the lower 48 states.
By the mid-1970s, however, a few wolves had migrated back into northern Wisconsin from Minnesota, and the DNR established a wolf recovery plan with a goal of 100 wolves. Approximately 550 animals comprise the current population in the state.
Once listed as a threatened species in Wisconsin, the wolf has been delisted at both the state and federal levels. However, repeated lawsuits challenging the ruling have kept the wolf's status in limbo. While delisted, the wolf would still have protected status, but with a DNR management goal of 350 animals.
- Lee Fahrney can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
