Maralee Sjerven of St. Michael has lost close to 25 chickens and several turkeys to what she believes to be a cougar recently. "Some of my neighbors have been seeing it for the last six months but I first saw it last Friday," she said. Sjerven and her husband live on a hobby farm just off County Road 37 and MacIver. "I'm trying to get pictures from anyone who has them," she said.

An Otsego resident also has heard about this cougar sighting. "I've heard from friends in the Towne Lakes area about the cougar being spotted on 70th street and people have been texting and posting warnings," Cari Nelson said.

Both Wright County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Natural Resources [DNR] have been contacted but the cougar sighting has not been confirmed by either. "We have received reports but we have not confirmed that it was indeed a cougar," Nicholas Snavely, the Assistant Area Wildlife Manager for the DNR said earlier this week. "We've suggested either using a trail camera or getting a foot print for us to verify," he added.

While we don't typically see many cougars in St. Michael, they are known to travel from the Dakotas over and through Minnesota, Snavely said.

If you have pictures or footprints from this cougar sighting, please contact the MN DNR at 320-223-7872.