Are big cats back on Midwestern prowl?

If called by a panther,
don't anther.

-- Ogden Nash

Two months ago I was driving on Oak Park ave and about 148th street in Oak Forest. I seen what appeared to be a big cat about the width of the car in front of me run across the street. At first I thought it was a dog or coyote. Then I realized it was way to big to be either.

I grew up in northern Wisconsin and have known of the wisc. dept. of natural resources turning loose 20 pairs of breediing mountain lions in the area of the Nicolet national forest to promote the reintroduction of them to the area. Also, on the Menominee reservation just north of Shawano a gentleman has stated he has released 40 pairs although they can only CONFIRM that he loosed 10 pair. These big cats have been a fixture of the northwoods for more than 45 years and the reports that they are not here are bogus. I saw one kill a deer when I was only 18 years old, 32 years ago. They are there and have been for a long time, they are very reclusive and in so being are extremely difficult to spot in the wild even if you spend a great deal of time looking for them you may never see one, however that does not mean they do not exist here. They are masters at hiding and even the females are loners who are rarely ever seen with anyting other than their young except during mating which is a very brief encounter, the males prey on the young to promote the females coming into 'season' sooner, consequently the females need solitude to protect their brood.

Ann wrote:

If called by a panther,
don't anther.
-- Ogden Nash

HILARIOUS !!

All I can say is, oh...crap!!

the big cats are back,it`s good to see something good happening in the midweset

west

Dean wrote:

Two months ago I was driving on Oak Park ave and about 148th street in Oak Forest. I seen what appeared to be a big cat about the width of the car in front of me run across the street. At first I thought it was a dog or coyote. Then I realized it was way to big to be either.

I seen one cross in front of me while going southbound on Harlem right as I was going to cross the bridge at the Cal Sag it cleared the south bound lanes in one leap and headed west along the canal, it was a BIG CAT, with the amount of deer in the forest preserve they could easily exist.

there are more out there than reported. I've heard of numerous sightings in N. Wisconsin from people up there, as well as sightings from people in S. Wisonsin/N. Illinois. Glad to see they have come back - there is sure enough food for them.

Do they eat Canadian Geese?? We sure could use them around here if they do.

"Experts knew instantly it wasn't wild because it sidled up to the site superintendent and rubbed against him like a kitty, Buhnerkempe said."

I'll bet that raised the hair on his neck!

I was in South Central Wisconsin, near Devil's Lake, a few years ago and saw a large cat dart across the road late at night. I could swear it was a cougar and the locals told me that there have been reports of sightings of cougars in the area, but no confirmation. I'd say they're there. This thing scared the crap out of me when I saw it. I've never seen a cat that large except in the zoo.

I'm originally from central Illinois, where sightings are often reported. Yet, the Department of Conservation and local authorities repeatedly deny them.

I'm willing to bet that they would have tried to dismiss the WI sighting if there hadn't been DNA evidence.

Don't we have a deer overpopulation problem? If so, more cougar could be a solution to that problem. Humans and their pets should keep their distance from the cougar and deer territory.

The graphic is wrong, at least in South Dakota. There is not a single confirmation in western South Dakota shown on this graphic. The mountain lion population in the Black Hills is perhaps the largest around. Western Nebraska has a good amount, but probably not as many as the Black Hills, however there is a large cluster of red dots, Do we need to go back to geography class?

I saw a cougar four years ago in Grayslake. Not anything new.

Wow! That is so COOL!

There was a photo of a cougar spotted in Waushara County, Wisconsin. It was in the Waushara Argus.

Cougar sightings are not news to people in the Galena area--having been spotted and photographed in the Galena Territory and spotted on the outskirts of town. My husband and I saw one in mid June of 2006 at the north end of town.

I saw one with a number of people in the UP of Mich in '79, walked out from under our cabin when we pulled in the driveway. It stopped about 20' in front of the car and looked at us for about 5-10 seconds. No mistaking it for what it was. My mom also saw one about two years ago near her home in the UP, sitting on the neighbors porch in the winter (cabin closed for the winter).

I don't buy any of this bogus about the DNR re-instituting them anywhere. They never really left the Midwest, it's just their numbers were waaay down. Now, with migration from the west, there are breeding populations.