Local Cougar Sightings

Illinois Sightings collected from the Internet

• December 4, 2004

  The presence of a second cougar has been confirmed in Illinois, this time in Mercer County near New Boston.

  Kenny Tharp stumbled over the body of an adult male cougar while scaring up deer approximately one half mile behind his house during a co-operative hunt with friends. The cat was seven feet in length from nose to tail tip, weighed 98 pounds and was evidently malnourished. An arrow wound was discovered on the animal's body and was the apparent cause of death. From all appearances the cat had died the day before.

  Except for its emaciated condition the animal was the twin of the cougar discovered in Randolph County four years ago. Just across the Mississippi in Iowa three cougars have been killed since 2000. The emaciated condition is significant since it might signify that the cat was an escaped or released pet that had not yet learned to hunt on its own.

  The cougar is currently in the freezer of Mr. Tharp's father awaiting a rendevous with a taxidermist. So far no qualified wildlife biologist has examined the animal.

• 12 November 2004

  The Lynwood Cougar is still unconfirmed. At a talk in Grayslake, SIU biologist Clay Nielsen discussed the issue of cougars in the Chicago area, concluding that it was possible for a young male to pass through but unlikely for cougars to re-establish themsleves due to lack of suitable habitat.

• A cougar was sighted in Lynwood, IL (near Chicago).

Missouri Sightings from the Internet, 2003 and earlier

• 1927 - Missouri's last certifiably wild cougar shot in swamps of bootheel
• 10 Jan 1999 - Cougar treed - deer carcases found
• 31 Dec 2000? - Cougar caught on video stalking deer
• 14 Oct 2002 - 1:45 am - 100# Male ~7' long North Kansas City Mo
• Dallas Co. - Cougar photographed
• "Ozarks" - 2 separate videotaped cougars (or the same cougar video-taped twice)

Photo © 2004 Jim Jung and liscensors. All rights reserved