Cougars in So. Illinois

Slev · #1 07/28/07, 12:16 PM

I was talking to a hunting friend of mine the other day and he said that the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources, (IDNR) has admitted that there ARE cougars now in Southern Illinois. BUT, also stated that IDNR would not admit to having released any. So, now I'm just wondering what about all of the farms and livestock producers down there, can they shoot the cougar that comes looking for dinner on their farms?

Pops2 · #2 07/28/07, 12:22 PM

check the hunting regs if it doesn't prohibit shooting them then they are fair game also go check the state code of laws.
the DNR doesn't have to release them there are plenty of idiots out there that will do it for them.

Selena · #3 07/28/07, 03:24 PM

There have been articles in the newspaper when cougars (mountain lions) were hit by cars. Happened not too far from the Mississippi. I'm not sure re: regs - you need to filter through the fed regs then the state. Too bad we can't encourage them to make deer their prime food source.

busybee870 · #4 07/28/07, 03:37 PM

take a big ole can of meow mix for them cats. we have in our area, comes on our property its been seen twice, its skiddish around humans, but not animals

#5 07/28/07, 03:47 PM

Regs or not, if I catch one on my property it will be dead. If it has a collar, I will fasten it to a milk jug and send it downriver. I can picture the DNR boys standing at the mouth of the Mississippi with their antenna pointed out in the gulf waiting for him to swim back to shore. Lots of woods and brush around my house and I have small grandkids. Ain't putting up with such things.

Cash · #6 07/28/07, 04:16 PM

I know mountain lion experts who will argue til they're blue in the face that there is no breeding population of mountain lions east of the Mississippi. I also know people here in Maine who claim multiple sightings. Up here, at least, the only acceptable official proof will be a female and cubs killed on the street in front of the Statehouse in Augusta.

backwoods · #7 07/28/07, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poppy

Regs or not, if I catch one on my property it will be dead. If it has a collar, I will fasten it to a milk jug and send it downriver. I can picture the DNR boys standing at the mouth of the Mississippi with their antenna pointed out in the gulf waiting for him to swim back to shore. Lots of woods and brush around my house and I have small grandkids. Ain't putting up with such things.

Me too.

Micahn · #8 07/28/07, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cash

I know mountain lion experts who will argue til they're blue in the face that there is no breeding population of mountain lions east of the Mississippi. I also know people here in Maine who claim multiple sightings. Up here, at least, the only acceptable official proof will be a female and cubs killed on the street in front of the Statehouse in Augusta.

Just tell them to come on down to Florida I do believe we are east of the Mississippi :-)

My uncle in Indiana has been building a new home for a couple of years now. One day over a year ago he walked out front and there in the mud was a very clear track. He called the DNR and they came out took pictures and all and said yup that is a panther track. They will not say it officially but they know they are there. Around the county I come from (Green) I know of at least 5 or 6 people personally that have seen panthers over the last few years. I can remember stories over the last 40 years of people talking about seeing things and finding tracks and all. I really believe they have been in the east all of these years just in small numbers. Now that the deer populations are so high the predators numbers are going up as well. When I was a kid up there it was a rare thing to see wild life around. Now days I can sit on my moms back porch in the mornings and see deer, turkey, coyotes and a few other things.

Rockin'B · #9 07/28/07, 06:32 PM

Generally, you have the right to protect your family, livestock, etc. They have to be in attack mode though and not just on walkabout.
Sport hunting will most likely fall under the non-regulated critters and you cannot shoot them. I'm sure my terminology is wrong on that, but in most states, if they are not dealt with directly in the regulations you cannot shoot them.

I know that if one was in my goat pen it would have to hope I'm having a bad trigger day.

fostermomma · #10 07/28/07, 06:51 PM

I would not be suprised at all if there are cougars in Ill. I am in Indiana and we have had a lot of wild animals sighted over the last couple of years. There is a big cat rescue center that had a panther escape a few months ago and it has not yet been found. About ten years ago a family inour area moved in that had bears in cages in the back yard. One day when they got home the cages where all empty and the locks had been cut off the cages. The bears also where not found.

BillHoo · #11 07/28/07, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fostermomma

I would not be suprised at all if there are cougars in Ill. I am in Indiana and we have had a lot of wild animals sighted over the last couple of years. There is a big cat rescue center that had a panther escape a few months ago and it has not yet been found. About ten years ago a family inour area moved in that had bears in cages in the back yard. One day when they got home the cages where all empty and the locks had been cut off the cages. The bears also where not found.

Sounds like those bears are now part of a fur coat worth thousands of dollars!

Raptor · #12 07/28/07, 07:58 PM

Shoot,shovel & shutup. Works real well.

peter nap · #13 07/28/07, 08:12 PM

I believe before shooting one.....You need to shout:

It's coming right at me !

Pops2 · #14 07/28/07, 10:33 PM

contact USFW and find out where they say mt lions are east of ole man river, use e-mail and save it on hard copy, and disc. do the same w/ the state agency. if the regs don't prohibit it & nothing in the state code prohibits it, you can pop one as needed. if anyone finds out & tries to charge you, you'll have proof you thought it was an escaped /turned out illegally held pet and had a reasonable fear for your & your family's life.

Cash · #15 07/29/07, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micahn

Just tell them to come on down to Florida I do believe we are east of the Mississippi :-)

Those swamp cats of yours are considered a separate subspecies by the feds, ;-) but I've heard they're conducting DNA studies to find out for sure -- or perhaps already have. I'm 12-18 months behind the curve on new updates. There's an outfit called the Puma Network

http://www.easterncougarnet.org/network.html

that tries to keep track of that stuff.

Cornhusker · #16 07/29/07, 11:14 AM

We aren't supposed to have mountain lions either, but las year one was killed 50 yards from a day care in Scottsbluff, and they've been spotted all the way east to Ogallala.
We aren't supposed to have wolves either according to the game warden, but there are more and more sightings.
I even heard a rumor there was a bear spotted at Ash Hollow, and there's no bears here either.
The animals are moving as the yuppies invade the mountains.
The deer and elk are pusing out onto the plains, and the predators are flollowing them.

#17 07/29/07, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornhusker

We aren't supposed to have mountain lions either, but las year one was killed 50 yards from a day care in Scottsbluff, and they've been spotted all the way east to Ogallala.
We aren't supposed to have wolves either according to the game warden, but there are more and more sightings.
I even heard a rumor there was a bear spotted at Ash Hollow, and there's no bears here either.
The animals are moving as the yuppies invade the mountains.
The deer and elk are pusing out onto the plains, and the predators are flollowing them.

That is indeed the cause of some of it Corny, but these large predators showing up 2 or 3 states away are hauled in in the backs of pickups. The " rewilding America" project is alive and well and you can find info about it online. It is promoted by a bunch of people who think animals have a right to go where they please and man shouldn't interfere.

Rockin'B · #18 07/29/07, 06:20 PM

Cornhusker,

One was shot just north of Kansas City a couple years back. Lot's of reports of sightings along the Platte river in Central NE.

WeaverRose · #19 07/29/07, 07:21 PM

We live pretty close to the feline rescue center that lost a cougar a few months ago. It's a handy place to know about when a cow dies, or goat, or you need to get rid of some old laying hens who aren't anymore. I was worried when they lost the cougar, until I found out that the lions/cougars/etc. over there won't eat sheep. We lost a ewe, and hubby was not available to bury it right away, so we called them to come after it, and were told they just won't eat them. Maybe it's the smell of the wool, but it made me a bit more comfortable to think of the lost cougar making a wide swatch around our pasture. Of course the ratio of dogs to humans on our road is pretty much 5/1, so we've not been bothered. So far.

crobar · #20 07/30/07, 12:03 PM

Couple of years ago one was killed about 5miles north of Chester in southern Illinois, hit by a train, engineer called about it. They found the dead animal. It was tested, DNR confirmed it was wild, not an escaped pet. I saw one near DuQuoin a year ago, it was crossing the highway, I have to confess I've questioned myself, but I'm nearly certain. Then 4 or 5 months ago saw another crossing highway near Culter. Deep Southern Illinois is becoming a wilderness. People leaving, animals moving in.