Taxidermized cougar killed in 2023 unveiled to community
Kenwood cougar memorialized, neighbors fund taxidermy
A cougar that made headlines in late 2023 will be displayed at the Kenwood Recreation Center at the end of April. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has the full story.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) -
Families lined up to get their first glimpse at a taxidermized cougar on Saturday morning at the Kenwood Rec Center.
Kenwood cougar remembered
The backstory:
The powerful mountain lion was believed to be searching for a mate in 2023 before it was killed by a car on Interstate 394.
"It’s so cool to see what it actually was," Michaela Finnegan of Minneapolis told FOX 9. "It’s really beautiful. It’s really life-like. It’s so interesting, imagine that walking around here."
Terry Alex doesn’t have to imagine. He says he saw the cougar in the middle of the road, while driving home.
"I slowed down. I was probably like five miles per hour when I went by him and stopped," Alex said. "He looked up, I remember his fluffy ears and his tail."
Experts weigh in on animal’s journey
Dig deeper:
Taxidermist Meadow Kouffeld spent nearly 60 hours with the dead cougar to craft the clay sculpture of it.
"The animal has road rash on it," taxidermist Meadow Kouffeld said. "As far as the death goes, [the skull] was shattered, so he died instantly. There was no suffering."
The 2-year-old mountain lion was born in Nebraska, and likely traveled around 530 miles before its death in the Twin Cities.
Minneapolis park officials now plan to give the cougar a permanent resting place at the Kroening Nature Center.