It has not been proven if this is a wild cougar. But it is possible this was the wild cougar that was recently seen along the Wisconsin/Illinois border.
EDIT: It was confirmed this was a wild cougar. A gigantic blunder.
Note the idiotic comments by the DNR spokesman. There are currently no protections on cougar even though they are native to Illinois. Why not start protecting these animals that are entering Illinois *now* so they have at least some chance of surviving in the NW corner and southern tip of the state?
Instead we get an “it’s ok to kill the rarest predator in the state because it’s not part of the normal ecosystem” campaign from the Illinois DNR. Shameful and lazy and a disgrace to any thoughtful outdoors person.
A spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said Monday that the state’s current wildlife code does not protect cougars because they are not considered a normal part of the ecosystem here. The official said the only state regulations that might come into play would be gun ordinances, but because police did the shooting that issue is moot.
Warning: For those sensitive to the killing of an incredibly rare and long lost native Illinois animal that had not attacked a human or even a pet, please do not watch.
New Video. This page has two videos, one showing the cougar trting to escape police, not attack them. The cougar runs righ behind one officer as it tries to flee the scene. Animal Control *was* on scene. The tranq guns used for large canines were not used, even though this cougar had not attacked any people. Look in the grey sidebar next to the main video for the two tiny video images for the other video on this.
It doesn’t look like the officers were being attacked, as claimed, does it? And if Animal Control was there the whole time, where were the tranquilizer guns they use on mastiffs, pit bulls and rotties? Clearly, these folks were intereted in a good old shoot em’ up, nothing more.
It took 18 rounds before it went down.
edit: Fox News had plenty of time to get there and capture some footage, but Animal Control did not? Was Animal Control called off by police? There are no animal control officers featured in any of the video.
See my post two weeks ago on this (possible) cougar. One was spotted in the North Chicago suburbs:
Could this be the wild cougar recently spotted in southern Wisconsin? Or is this a released pet? Either way, it came to the wrong end of town. Illinois is a dead end for rare wildlife.
Update:
Questions arise over police misconduct in cougar hunt.
Update:
Possible route map for this cougar based on news reports and confirmed sightings. This map is just suggestive, nothing more. The Roscoe cougar could have been a pet. The Milton cougar could have turned north. This is just a possible route based on confirmed and numerous unconfirmed sightings and news reports over the past few months. Click the image for the larger view:
Update: Cops Criticized As Overzealous In Cougar Shooting
“He came around the corner here looking to avoid pursuit,” said witness Ron Litke, who has circled some of the paw prints left in his backyard.
Other neighbors say the real danger wasn’t from the cougar, but from overzealous police officers.
“Maybe they could have tranquilized him, or just a couple shots,” said area resident Jane Wharton. “Anyone could have been injured with all those shots. It’s just out of hand.”
Also, the police Supt is saying that the officer “saved lives”. It;s clear in the video provided that the cougar was trying to be evasive. You can see it walk *behind* an officer trying to escape in the video link in this post. If it wanted to, it could have easily attacked the officer from behind.
