9-11-13 dnr wildlife biologist doubts animal spotted near eden is a cougar

Some residents in the Eden area believe  there is a cougar in the area…a DNR wildlife biologist is not convinced.  A trail camera captured the image of an animal that local residents believe is a cougar…and other residents have reported similar sightings in the last couple of months.  DNR Wildlife biologist, Daniel Weidert, tells AM 1170 WFDL's Between the Lines program he can’t tell from the grainy picture what kind of animal it is so he can’t say for sure its not a cougar.  But Weidert says the Burdock plants in the foreground are a clue that the animal in the picture is not the size of the cougar.  In fact Weidert says the vegetation shows that the animal in the photo is only about two or three feet long.  "Certainly the size difference is the most glaring thing to me,  the fact that this animal, if its a cougar, should be at least three times larger in length than that leaf is and it really doesn't compare,"  Weidert said.  Weidert says the other key factor is the repeated sightings of the animal…over several weeks.  Weidert says cougars are always on the move…and won’t stay in

an area long.