In 2009, a mountain lion visited the St. Croix/Indianhead county of Wisconsin. Although cougars roamed through the area in the early frontier days of the 1800's, overhunting and human population growth drove the cougars out of Wisconsin. This particular, Cougars visits generated a great interest because it was photographed and written about in the local papers. This book is the story of the Cougar of 2009, written as if the Mountain Lion narrated the story himself! BIG CAT THE ST. CROIX COUGAR By J. D. BEAUFEAUX Trafford Publishing Copyright © 2012 J. D. BEAUFEAUX All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4669-3034-6 Chapter One AFTER THE FIRST CHASE IT WAS A CLOUDY, COLD evening in March of 2009 when Big cat; a cougar, walked to the entrance of his lair and stretched his long, muscular body after a weary days rest. Carefully stepping out of his den his ears twitched back and forth listening to every sound as his nose checked the wind for any scent of danger. He was still feeling uneasy from the previous days adventure when baying hounds had chased him for miles and treed him after he was exhausted from running for so long. The echoing voices of those yapping hounds in his mind and the men who came behind them made his hair stand up on the back of his neck! He recalled the fear and rage he felt as he sat trapped in the tree with the hounds barking, loudly at him; plus the men with their loud fire-sticks which made him cringe as he recalled the death of other animals he had seen killed by them. And finally, the relief he felt when the dogs were pulled back allowing him to leap to the ground and race away. His hunger brought him back to the present as he felt his stomach groan for food. It had been over two days since he had eaten from a deer carcass; a winter kill that had been frozen and preserved. However; the dogs had driven him many miles from the carcass so he had to look for other food since he had only eaten; lightly. Walking out of his lair into the open; he checked the area for any prey. To his right was a tamarack swamp which usually didn't offer anything he could eat but on the left was higher ground with big oak trees and he saw a squirrel, scurry across the forest floor. Generally, he didn't bother with squirrels but his hunger pains drove him forward and he had to try. In a low, crouching position; he silently crept towards the squirrel but before he got close the squirrel saw him and hurried up the tree to the top. Big cat knew that it was useless to try to climb after the squirrel, since it could easily jump to branches in other trees and escape him. As the sky darkens and the air moistens; sounds and scents are carried further than during the day. Big Cat's keen sense of smell is a vital part of his hunting abilities and with the odors of the forest filling his nose with scents like frogs, raccoons, wild turkeys and deer; he begins to search for food. Scanning the area in the low light; he could see clearly the differences between trees, brush and prey because like all cats and some other predators; their iris's open vertical and can expand to the full width of the eye allowing more light to enter. Thus; they can see everything more distinctly then we can in very little light . Cougars also; have long whiskers like house cat that warning them when something is close to their face in the dark and when the wind blows across them they can sense that too! A cat's whiskers are very important to them in low-light because with them they are able to "view' their surroundings— so to speak —by feeling any obstacle that they may come in contact with as they search for food in dark areas. Big Cat followed the strong, musky scents coming from a nearby pond and tried to sneak up on some croaking frogs. The marshes edge sank under his feet and he jumped back as water got his feet wet. He tried another approach to get near the frogs in the marsh but again he started to sink nto the marsh. Something moved to his right and he saw a turtle trying to paddle away but it was slowed down by the weeds as it struggled to get away. He batted with his paw at the turtle but only succeeded in splashing water as the turtle swam away. After trying once more to catch a frog; Big Cat decided it wasn't worth getting wet over. Turning away from the marsh; he left his mark by raising his tail high and squirting on a tree leaving his scent to mark his boundaries; then went looking for other meals. The DNR (Department of Natural Resources) had received a number of professed sightings from residents claiming to see cougars over the years; also know as a pumas, panthers or mountain lions. Most sightings were found to be other animals; like Canadian lynx, bobcats, large dogs and a variety of other animals. However; with the more frequent use of trail cameras, spotting cougars has become much less difficult and cougars have been recorded on film. Chapter Two THE SECOND CHASE ON THE MORNING OF