Report: Cougar spotted near St. Paul's Grand Ave
Two St. Paul residents reported seeing a mountain lion roaming the streets near Grand Avenue Friday night.
The Pioneer Press reports Jacob Todd was on his deck around 10:30 p.m. when he heard the shriek of an animal. Under a street light in the 700 block of Grand Avenue, Todd spotted a cougar with a house cat in its mouth.
Abby Marcus also reported seeing the cougar, but a search by police found nothing.
Todd, who's seen mountain lions in the past during an eight-month stint as a search-and-rescue worker in southern Idaho, said the sighting was unmistakeable.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources told the newspaper that cougar sightings are extremely rare, with only 14 sightings in Minnesota since 2007.
Last November, a mountain lion was caught on a trail camera in Osakis, Minn., one of few sighting that DNR officials have been able to substantiate.
In Canada, CNN reports a man in his 20s was attacked by a cougar just last week in the resort town of Banff, Alberta. The man was able to fight off the animal using a skateboard.
