Cougar seen in Duluth believed to have walked from Nebraska

DULUTH — A mountain lion wandering through Duluth prompted two schools to temporarily lock their doors Wednesday, Dec. 3.

The mountain lion likely originated in Nebraska, according to John Erb, a furbearer and wolf research biologist at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The agency has been receiving reports of this cougar in Minnesota since early September, when it was spotted near Fergus Falls, Erb said.

"Then we got a flurry of pictures that kind of help us loosely track it," Erb said.

Trail and security cameras captured it near Park Rapids, Wadena, Brainerd, Nisswa, Pine River, Leech Lake, Grand Rapids, Tower and finally the North Shore.

Bre Bujold saw it on Nov. 28 outside her home near McQuade Road northeast of Duluth. Bujold recorded an approximately 45-second video