IL lion sightings
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:25 am
from the Northwest Illinois and Indiana Times:
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/ ... nsjno0.txt
ILLINOIS STYLE: Is there a cougar near Okawville?
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By ROD KLOECKNER | Sunday, March 30, 2008 | No comments posted.
OKAWVILLE, Ill. - Somewhere in the timber along the Kaskaskia River bottoms north of Okawville, a cougar roams. Russel Shubert is certain of it.
"There's no doubt in my mind," Shubert said. "I know there's one for sure. It's like this: Where there's one, there's probably more."
Wayne Borrenpohl, of Venedy, also believes there's a cougar in the backcountry of Washington County. He and his wife, Janis, both saw the big cat at different times in the past three years.
"Absolutely I believe there's one out there," Wayne Borrenpohl said. "The conservation guys can say what they want. They don't see as much wildlife as I do around here. I know what I saw."
Shubert and Borrenpohl are among several western Washington County residents who claim to have seen a cougar in recent years, although there have been only two confirmed cougar sightings in Illinois in the last 146 years.
According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNA), the last cougar found in Illinois was in December 2004 in Mercer County. It was found dead, having died of infection caused by a puncture wound.
Another cougar was found dead after it was hit by a train near Chester in Randolph County in July 2000. Before that, the last verified record of a cougar in Illinois was from Alexander County in 1862.
What are the chances, then, that the animal Shubert, Borrenpohl and several of their neighbors witnessed was actually a cougar?
Possible, but not likely, said Bob Bluett, wildlife biologist with the IDNR.
"It's not impossible to have a cougar wander into Illinois from a nearby state," Bluett said. "The young males can travel a long distance. It's certainly not impossible. However, it's certainly not an event that occurs as often as sightings would indicate."
Three states bordering Illinois _ Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin _ have confirmed cougar sightings. In January, officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed that tracks of a large cat spotted in Rock County are consistent with those of a cougar. Rock County is among the first row of Wisconsin counties along the Illinois border.
Bluett said the population centers for cougars in the United States are the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Badlands of North Dakota. He said in the two instances where a cougar was found in Illinois, both were young males.
"That's consistent with the ecology of the animal," he said. "They move long distances to look for a new area to set up."
But ...
"Illinois is kind of a hostile place," he said. "There's lots of roads and lots of people. We have lots of deer, which is the staple food for cougars, but they have a lot of things to overcome before they can really call Illinois home."
Shubert begs to differ. He thinks one of the big cats has taken up permanent residence in the acres of timber and bottom land bordering the Kaskaskia River north and west of Okawville.
In the fall of 2006, Shubert and his wife were taking their dog for a walk. They were about eight-tenths of a mile from the river, cresting a bluff.
"We were watching a squirrel steal an apple out of a neighbor's apple tree," Shubert said. "When we looked back down the road, that cougar was sitting right in the middle of the road. It had it's back to us and was washing its face.
"We're standing there dumbfounded. It turned around and looked at us and took off for the hills. The whole thing lasted 10 seconds at the most."
Shubert said he was about a city block away from the animal. He's certain it wasn't a bobcat, which has a healthy population in Illinois.
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/ ... nsjno0.txt
ILLINOIS STYLE: Is there a cougar near Okawville?
Story
Discussion
Font Size:
Default font size
Larger font size
By ROD KLOECKNER | Sunday, March 30, 2008 | No comments posted.
OKAWVILLE, Ill. - Somewhere in the timber along the Kaskaskia River bottoms north of Okawville, a cougar roams. Russel Shubert is certain of it.
"There's no doubt in my mind," Shubert said. "I know there's one for sure. It's like this: Where there's one, there's probably more."
Wayne Borrenpohl, of Venedy, also believes there's a cougar in the backcountry of Washington County. He and his wife, Janis, both saw the big cat at different times in the past three years.
"Absolutely I believe there's one out there," Wayne Borrenpohl said. "The conservation guys can say what they want. They don't see as much wildlife as I do around here. I know what I saw."
Shubert and Borrenpohl are among several western Washington County residents who claim to have seen a cougar in recent years, although there have been only two confirmed cougar sightings in Illinois in the last 146 years.
According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNA), the last cougar found in Illinois was in December 2004 in Mercer County. It was found dead, having died of infection caused by a puncture wound.
Another cougar was found dead after it was hit by a train near Chester in Randolph County in July 2000. Before that, the last verified record of a cougar in Illinois was from Alexander County in 1862.
What are the chances, then, that the animal Shubert, Borrenpohl and several of their neighbors witnessed was actually a cougar?
Possible, but not likely, said Bob Bluett, wildlife biologist with the IDNR.
"It's not impossible to have a cougar wander into Illinois from a nearby state," Bluett said. "The young males can travel a long distance. It's certainly not impossible. However, it's certainly not an event that occurs as often as sightings would indicate."
Three states bordering Illinois _ Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin _ have confirmed cougar sightings. In January, officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources confirmed that tracks of a large cat spotted in Rock County are consistent with those of a cougar. Rock County is among the first row of Wisconsin counties along the Illinois border.
Bluett said the population centers for cougars in the United States are the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Badlands of North Dakota. He said in the two instances where a cougar was found in Illinois, both were young males.
"That's consistent with the ecology of the animal," he said. "They move long distances to look for a new area to set up."
But ...
"Illinois is kind of a hostile place," he said. "There's lots of roads and lots of people. We have lots of deer, which is the staple food for cougars, but they have a lot of things to overcome before they can really call Illinois home."
Shubert begs to differ. He thinks one of the big cats has taken up permanent residence in the acres of timber and bottom land bordering the Kaskaskia River north and west of Okawville.
In the fall of 2006, Shubert and his wife were taking their dog for a walk. They were about eight-tenths of a mile from the river, cresting a bluff.
"We were watching a squirrel steal an apple out of a neighbor's apple tree," Shubert said. "When we looked back down the road, that cougar was sitting right in the middle of the road. It had it's back to us and was washing its face.
"We're standing there dumbfounded. It turned around and looked at us and took off for the hills. The whole thing lasted 10 seconds at the most."
Shubert said he was about a city block away from the animal. He's certain it wasn't a bobcat, which has a healthy population in Illinois.