Cougars in So. Illinois

poppy, I dunno about that rewilding thing...sounds like a pretty tall tale to me. But I DO know that we have made it very easy for cougar populations to cross the Mississippi. Just wait til 3 a.m. when there's no traffic and walk across a bridge! That's how coyotes got to Middle TN and armadillos got to Huntsville, AL!

Somewhere in this forum is another thread about cougars being spotted near Woodbury in Middle TN. Lots of other folks chimed in with spottings.

Some of you folks might want to search for it.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

It wouldn't surprise me one bit that big cats are in your area. I grew up in Union County and there is plenty of area in the Shawnee Nat'l Forest and places like Pine Hills that would be perfect cougar habitat.

My neighbors here said that cougar have been sighted here (about 20 min. west of Wisconsin Dells). Neighbors wife swore she saw a bear a couple of weeks ago.

So where in Southern IL are you at?

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-Paul

"If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." -Red Green

We have had several sitings from reputable people here right over the river in Western Kentucky.

Incidently, the cat killed by train near Chester; local paper had a picture of the dead beast (small one). DNR analyzed the contents of its stomach. The contents were from the wild, no pet food. They did an DNA test, concluded it was not an escaped pet. I'm from Perrry Co. IL. Our county was 60% stripped mined, lots of open, and lots of rugged land.

Ford8N,
You mention bears, a couple of high school aged girls actually struck a bear crossing the road this past winter. It occurred outside of Jackson, MO, according to the SE Missourian newspaper. Growing up in the Ozarks I never saw a bear (did see a panther, what folks call a cougar on here!). I would be curious to know what the young girl told her dad what happended to the front of her car! (Honest, dad, it was a bear! I swear it!)

SLEV
it is not necessary for the DNR to release them there are many ways they can get there
1. on their own
2. escaped or released pet (after a day or two there will be no "pet food" in there GI tract, and although MOST mountain lions in the exotic pet trade are of south american origin NOT ALL are)
3. intentional release by some DAR that want to be able to hunt them (currently the MOST common source for new feral hog populations by a huge margin)
4. intentional release by AR whackos for any number of dumb@$$ reasons

I went to high school there - county seat of Perry County.

In January of '03 or '04, a cougar was hit by a car IN Kansas City, at the intersecton of I-35 and Parvin Rd. This is a fairly developed area near the Missouri River and at that location are also Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. When that cat was posted, it had a small dog collar in its stomach.

That summer, another cougar was hit and killed on US 54, just south of the Fulton city limits in Callaway County or about 20 miles from my house. I have acquaintances who raise boer goats and hair sheep not far from there and despite guardian dogs and llamas, they frequently lose stock.

Last fall during the bow hunting period of the deer season, I was told that the grown grandson of an absentee owner knelt to field dress his deer when a golden brownish shape moved near him. When he looked up, a cougar walked away down the game trail. Don't know if that story is true but the land is less than 1/2 mile from our place by the road, less cross country.

I don't know about AR whackos bringing in cougar, but the game and fish commission down there reintroduced black bear to northwest AR in the late 50's and early 60's. In the mid and late 80's they brought in elk. I don't know if the elk have spread, but you can bet your bottom dollar the bears have moved across AR and into Missouri. We lived in White County, 45 miles NE of Little Rock in the mid 90's and had a bear population big enough to justify a hunting season. A couple of years ago a man DH used to work with set up a motion sensitive video camera on a game trail in the southern part of this county and instead of deer, got a good picture of a grown black bear.

Thank goodness for our 3 Great Pyrenees and a loaded gun by my bedstead.

"right over the river in Western Kentucky."

Oh, buggers.....I would PMP if I saw one of those out in our pasture. This is the first I've read or heard I think ever of them being sighted in KY. Western KY is 3 hours from me.

We knew they were in the mountains of Colorado, but even then, no one hardly ever SAW one. Buggers....don't want em anywhere near me.

Once again I'm glad to be out here where there aren't rumors of anything. We have everything and know it.

Back in the 80s a moose left MN and walked to KS. The KS fish and game discovered a loophole in the law, you could shoot anything unless they said you couldn't. The moose was in danger so they quickly changed the law and said now you can only shoot things we say you can.

There has also been black bear spotted in southern Illinois. Let em live. The deer/skunk/racoon/rabbit populations are getting out of control here.