Incorrectly Identified as Wisconsin Cougars

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The Fake Story: These photos were taken through the windows of a company in Franklin, WI. They first appeared in early April 2007 following a report of a cougar in the Franklin area.

The Real Story: Based on a phone conversation with the secretary of the company, the photos were created in Photoshop. They were distributed to a few customers as a joke. From there, the images took on a life of their own, which included a visit by local law enforcement officers seeking more details of the cougar "sighting".

The Fake Story: These photographs were circulated around the internet with a story stating that the cougar came on to a family’s deck (variously reported as in Tomahawk, Eagle River, Sawyer County) and was staring at the children who were playing on the floor. The photos were also reportedly from South Dakota, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania.

The Real Story: These photos were actually taken outside Lander, Wyoming in 2005. Dave Hamilton of the Missouri Department of Conservation tracked the photos to Dr. Dave Rodgers, a dentist from the Lander area, who lives in an area frequented by cougars.

The Fake Story: These photos have been circulating on the Internet since at least 2004, reported as from the Baraboo Hills in 2004. The broad-side photo of cougar was reported as "cougar from Butternut" in fall 2006.

The Real Story: These are probably unretouched photos, but evidence suggests they may be contrived, and most certainly weren't taken in Wisconsin. The deer in the top picture is a mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) which is only found in the western United States. The shrubs are clearly western vegetation and the trees are most likely lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) another western species. In addition, several other things about the photos make them suspicious. The chances of getting both a deer and cougar in the same trail camera frame at the same time is extremely remote. Also the deer seems totally unaware of the cougar immediate behind it. This suggests a staged photo.

The Fake Story: This lion was hit between Eagle River and Woodruff, Wisconsin, by a car. Fish and Game had to come and put him down. He charged at the Fish and Game guy in the process.

The Real Story: It was actually hit on Hwy 64, north of Williams, AZ. The person in the photo is the DPS Officer that issued the salvage permit to the driver of the tow truck that struck it. The DPS Officer also happens to do taxidermy work on the side and volunteered to skin the lion for free. Supposedly, he had to dispatch the lion and in doing so, it made a lunge in his direction. No AGFD (AZ Game & Fish Dept.) personnel were involved except to verify the story.

Vesper Cougar

Fake Story 1: On Monday, March 24th, a taxidermist from the area saw a cougar eating a dead horse which had been drug into the woods by it's owner after it had died. The man called the DNR to tell them he had seen a cougar, however the person on the phone said there were no cougars in the state of Wisconsin. The man proceeded to explain he was going to shoot whatever it was. After the phone conversation the man supposedly shot the cougar and was showing people at a local bar, claiming he was going to make a mount of it.

Fake Story 2: In Vesper, Wisconsin (Wood County) on Monday, March 24th, a large cat, claimed to be a cougar, was shot and killed by a man who said the animal was attacking his pets.

The Real Story: "A game farm owner near Vesper had a cougar die of natural causes and called a local taxidermist. They wanted the cougar mounted as had been done for the last 2 of their cougars that have passed. The taxidermist picked up the dead cougar from the game farm, and decided to stop at a local tavern in downtown Vesper to have a few. A number of people saw the dead cougar in the back of his pickup. I talked to the taxidermist at his shop and he showed me the hide of the cougar in his freezer. He had already skinned it. I talked with the game farm owner also, and she confirmed that the cougar was from their game farm."

- Stewart Smith
Conservation Warden, Wisconsin Rapids

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Last Revised: March 31, 2008