Cougars Reported Near Nashwauk Now Believed To Be Bobcats

After visiting the site and examining photos and other evidence, department officials say they now believe the two animals discovered Nov. 7 near Nashwauk weren't cougars, but bobcats.

Wildlife officials say they were cautious about the report from the beginning because spotting two cougars together would've been extremely rare in Minnesota.

Dan Stark, large carnivore specialist for the department, raised a cardboard cutout of a typical sized cougar in the same tree where the other cat had been a few days earlier. He says the cougar would've loomed much larger in the tree than what was shown in the photo.