After Cougar Sighting, Dodge County Residents Advised To Keep Watch Of Small Children, Pets

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Dodge County officials are advising residents to not leave small children and pets unattended after a cougar was spotted over the weekend.

According to the county sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a cougar sighting report just north of Dodge Center Saturday afternoon.

“An area resident explained that they observed the cougar coming in and out of the tree line near their property. They said the cougar knew they were there watching, didn’t seem scared of them, but didn’t seem interested in approaching them either,” the sheriff’s office said.

One of the responding deputies was able to take a picture of the cougar.

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COUGAR SIGHTED TODAY NORTH OF DODGE CENTER (attached it a picture taken by one of our deputies today) Dodge County Deputies responded to a report of a cougar sighting this afternoon – north of Dodge Center just south of 620th Street (CR R) and just east of 190th Ave (CR 7). An area resident explained that they observed the cougar coming in and out of the tree line near their property. They said the cougar knew they were there watching, didn’t seem scared of them, but didn’t seem interested in approaching them either. The picture attached is one our deputies took of the cougar when they responded. A Conservation Officer from the DNR also responded to the scene to document the sighting. They believe the cougar may be one to two years old. The DNR believes this cougar is likely not a public safety threat. Just to err on the side of caution, we would advise people in the area to be careful with pets and young children being left unattended outside. If you see the cougar, DO NOT approach it. If you are safely able to photograph it, take a photograph and report your sighting to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office at 507-635-6200. We will be documenting sightings ad forwarding to the DNR. For more information on Cougars in Minnesota, regulations related to cougars, and restrictions, click on the following DNR link: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/cougar/index.html

A post shared by DodgeCountySheriff’sOffice MN (@dcsosheriff) on Sep 5, 2020 at 3:25pm PDT

According to the Minnesota DNR, the cougar is believed to be 1 to 2 years old and is likely not a public safety threat.

“Just to err on the side of caution, we would advise people in the area to be careful with pets and young children being left unattended outside,” the sheriff’s office said.

If you see a cougar, the sheriff’s office says to not approach it. If you can safely take a picture, do so and report the sighting to the sheriff’s office at (507) 635-6200.

For more information on cougars, visit the Minnesota DNR’s website.