My Bro works with a guy in Nashville and he said he got a pic of a cougar on his trail cam. One of the local papers printed it. Heres a link , you have to scroll down to where its says " Mountain Lions In Wayne Co."
http://www.silsupersite.com/ They suppose to be near Sam Dale Lake area.

Interesting.......

There are a few good articles about cougars on that page. One talked about people shooting them here in Illinois. What does the law say about that?

Don't get too excited yet.

Posted Photo: http://www.silsupersite.com/files/mountain_lion_-_press.jpg

Actual Photo: http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g1/hoopteeh/?action=view&current=Cougarnot.jpg

Features that make this appear to be a bobcat.
Tail length is 1/2 way to ground.
Tail tip is black with white ring slightly above.
Tips of ears are black with white on back side of ears.
Underneath is white and so it the insides of the legs.
White area has black stripes in it.

Here is a comparison of the animals:
http://www2.ucsc.edu/police/cougarvbobcat.htm

Before one gets excited and lets their mind run wild make sure the details are looked at.

good points..I can tell you though that the one that my husband sees with some regularity is not a bobcat...we've had enough bobcats to easily tell the difference..hopefully his trail cam will capture some shots of it.

Don't get too excited yet.

Posted Photo: http://www.silsupersite.com/files/mountain_lion_-_press.jpg

Actual Photo: http://s52.photobucket.com/albums/g1/hoopteeh/?action=view&current=Cougarnot.jpg

Features that make this appear to be a bobcat.
Tail length is 1/2 way to ground.
Tail tip is black with white ring slightly above.
Tips of ears are black with white on back side of ears.
Underneath is white and so it the insides of the legs.
White area has black stripes in it.

Here is a comparison of the animals:
http://www2.ucsc.edu/police/cougarvbobcat.htm

Before one gets excited and lets their mind run wild make sure the details are looked at.
Thanks for the info and the links. And thanks for helping us keep it real...:) Could you "debunk" the one they found hit by the train across from Menard Penitentiary? Heres a link...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-30-mountain-lions_x.htm

Facts are indisputable. The animal killed in 2000 was indeed confirmed by knowledgable individuals as a cougar. As the article you listed states, "We get hundreds and hundreds of mountain lion sightings from the public every year, and 99.999% turn out to be something else," says biologist Dave Hamilton, head of the mountain lion response team for the Missouri Department of Conservation." It is important that facts are used to confirm the type of animal seen in the wild. If all big cats are lumped together as cougars and people shoot them they will be in for a big surprise when they show a neighbor the cougar they killed and a game warden shows up. I guarantee that the Illinois Game Wardens know the difference between a dead bobcat and a cougar. Cougars are not listed on protected species (2007/2008 page 6 Rules& Reg.) therefore the state does not acknowledge them as being here, however IDNR does list Bobcats and Grey/Timber Wolves on the protected species list. I have never seen a wolf but they must be here. I have found numerous web sites that have supposed sightings but few provide hard evidence. There was a couple other cougars confirmed killed but those were found to be pen raised - not sure how they can tell. Kinda off the subject but there are also other animals moving into Illinois. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0503180231mar18,1,3428288.story

Was eating up at Greenup today and the owner said his buddy's horse was attacked by a cougar and one of the claws stuck in the horse.The attack was south of Greenup and north of Hidalgo in Cumberland Co.The Newton paper showed a picture of a farmers horse with claw marks across it's hind-quarter, and this guy actually seen the cat and ran it off according to the story in the paper.This attack was south of Newton and east of the power plant lake.Three weeks ago down by Fairfield in little town of Goeff another horse was attacked and that cat was also seen.Sounds like there's a few of these cats running around my area.:eek: :eek:

From what I have read they look at several different things on the animal to see if it has been raised or kept in a pen and then turned loose. Like the claws and paws will show certain ware patterns if kept in a pen. Also the teeth will show sign of captivity. Stomach contents and fat distribution are also clues.

I read about the claws too........and he was suppose to have deer and such in his stomach confirming that he wasn't a from a "pen"

I am not sure if this article is worth reading but if it is true large (Cougar/Panther) cats have been seen randomly in illinois for over 50 years. http://www.prairieghosts.com/ilpanthers.html

I wonder if the recent increase in bobcat numbers has many sightings confusing the actual cougars that are here with people seeing bobcats.

With current technology it is likely to find good hard evidence of cougars.

I hand call for fox and coyote, sure would not want a surprise visit with a cougar in the dark.

I seen a armadillo hit on the road at Baldwin Lake entrance about 3 weeks ago. When I came through later in the day someone took it.

Didn't they say that there wasn't bobcats for a while too though...until more and more sightings......?????

yes they did, in fact I remember hearing a DNR agents exact words as "there are no bobcats in Southern Illinois" in like 88 or 89, 1990 and 1991 they started asking at the deer check stations if you had seen any bobcats or turkeys while you were hunting.

Maybe they need to start asking about cougars now......???? I hope G gets her's on the cam......

It's hard to believe that IDNR does not acknowledge or talk about cougars in illinois but they did post the following report:

"CPOs were notified by a New Boston resident in Rock Island that a male cougar was found dead. The resident was on his way out to deer hunt when he discovered the cougar approximately 100 yards behind his residence. In the preliminary investigation, the cougar appeared to had been shot in the right shoulder exiting through the left shoulder with a bow & arrow. The exit wound was infected but the cougar’s hair was not slipping and the eyes were not sunken. Thus, leading the officers to believe that the cougar lived for awhile after it was shot and only being dead for a couple of days. The cougar was not declawed and did not appear to be missing any teeth. The CPOs took the following (approximate) measurements: Overall Length- Tip of nose to tail-- 7'1"; Girth-- 28" Top of front shoulder to paw-- 29"; Head Circumference-- 18 ½"; Width of front paw-- 4"; Width of back paw-- 3"; and Weight--95lbs. " This was listed on in the Region 1 activity report. http://www.dnr.state.il.us/Law3/report/04/Dec04.htm

There is one in crab orchard...

There is one in crab orchard...


Prove it!:confused:

my brother and brother-in-law said they saw one in perry county last year during second season, dont have to believe me but i trust my brother more than anyone in the world.

Prove it!:confused:
:D Well we know one was killed by a train in Randolph Co. So its only reasonable to believe there are others out there, some of these other sighting more than likely have some truth to them and denying them all just because there is no pics is just plain silly.:)

my brother and brother-in-law said they saw one in perry county last year during second season, dont have to believe me but i trust my brother more than anyone in the world.

He told me about that story. It not like he is the only one saying they have seen them.

:D Well we know one was killed by a train in Randolph Co. So its only reasonable to believe there are others out there, some of these other sighting more than likely have some truth to them and denying them all just because there is no pics is just plain silly.:)

Silly is posting a photo of a bobcat in a Newspaper and telling hundreds of people it is a cougar. That only educates people to think they are seeing cougars when they could be bobcats. Its easy to understand why IDNR doesn't want to listen to story's of cougar sightings. Its easier to listen when you have a photo or actual proof. Ask a fisherman how big a fish he caught, bet the fish is bigger in the story then when it was caught.

well I agree the media is often wrong and irresposible. That still does not change the fact that cougars have recently been found in Illinois. And not all fisherpeople or hunters are liars. May I ask where you got a pic of the original??? You seam to know a awful lot about this story.. I was just passing along info given to me. If you notice I said it was "suppose" to have have been take near Sam Dale Lake. So I never knew if it was true or not.

I agree with you that some (very very few) cougars are in illinois.
Read the following article: http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/09/10/local/106961.txt
No one can deny that a couple dead ones have been found. I myself put out trail cams and have photo's of bobcats but no cougars. Proper identification is critical to getting an accurate number of actual cougars in southern illinois. It would be nice to start seeing photos posted on this site of the first documented trail cam photo of cougars in illinois. A single trail cam photo of a cougar in southern illinois would bring in thousands of viewers to this site.

A single trail cam photo of a cougar in southern illinois would bring in thousands of viewers to this site.

I have been trying to get one with no luck.
I did get a few bobcat pictues and plan on putting even more cams out later this winter, early spring.


Proper identification is critical to getting an accurate number of actual cougars in southern illinois.

I work with a guy that claimed to have one on his place but after talking to him a while I came to the conclustion it was a bobcat.

He claimed it was a cougar then later in the conversation he was asking what a bobcat looked like or rather how big they can/will get.

A single trail cam photo of a cougar in southern illinois would bring in thousands of viewers to this site.

Ok, that sounds like a challenge, whatchou think Flat, Gretch? let's get some cougar pics on here and watch this site EXPLODE!

I am trying!!! We moved the camera to a place that I think might be more produtive but what the heck do I know? LOL
I've been tempted to set up a blind but the cats movements are a little erratic and could be down there for week or better and never see it so....I guess we'll stick with the trail cam.
Getting this particular one on a trail cam has become a neighborhood project..surely someone will pull it off..If it's not us I am sure they'll let me have it for here though (with credit given of course!)

Get a live chicken and tie it to a stake in front of your trail cam. I seen them do this with a goat in Africa to get picz of a huge crock. you might end up with a lot of chicken picz... Maybe you could stake it close enough and stick the cam up high enough so it don't set the cam off....or put the chicken in a cage with the side facing the cam covered so it doesen't detect the movement of tghe chicken..

As far as IDing the cats, I read an article where they take dna or some kind of tissue samples from the ones that have been found dead. Then have a database to compare this info to. If I remember right it was a online site that tracks the cougars in the country. I also read a report of a guy fishing that had a cougar attempt to jump in his boat. This undoubtedly was a former pet that got away or was released, for it to want to get in a boat with someone.

Ronin..I think you are correct..I know that was done with the one that was found over by the Menard house..it seemes that most that are captive/pets are a different variety.