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I wish this one could have had a different outcome. I live just a few miles from where the cougar in southeast Wisconsin was recently spotted. It was the talk of the state as it was the first confirmed cougar sighting (they obtained dna samples from a blood drop and urine found in the snow afterword) in over 80 years. Have a sad feeling this might be the same one. There are definitely others in the state up north, but so few that it is doubtful there is even a breeding pair yet. They are such incredibly powerful and graceful animals, magnificent in a word. Sadly, it had no business in the streets of Chicago. 
For the record, there have been less than twenty attacks or so on humans and a handful of deaths in North America in the past 100 years, most in California & British Columbia. Up until 1990, there were no attacks on humans since about 1906.
Sorry the links in the story below do not work (I left a few for informational purposes only). Visit this link for the video, links, & original story. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cougar-shot-webapr16,0,1215541.story?page=2
Cougar killed on North Side may have wandered from Black Hills
By Rob Mitchum and Jeremy Manier | Tribune reporters 8:23 PM CDT, April 15, 2008 The voyage may sound improbable, but wildlife officials say that a DNA test should reveal whether a cougar killed Monday in Chicago took a 1,000-mile trip from the Black Hills of South Dakota through Wisconsin before being shot by police in the Roscoe Village neighborhood.
On Tuesday, veterinarians performed a necropsy, an autopsy for animals, on the cougar at the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control facility in Bridgeview. Early evidence indicated that the cougar was of wild origin, rather than an escaped captive, and samples were taken for comparison to blood that a cougar left in January in Milton, Wis.
DNA analysis suggested that the Wisconsin animal was most similar to those which live in South Dakota, and experts say it may be the same specimen that eventually strayed into the city.
"It's intriguing to think it may end up being the one that was here in Wisconsin," said Doug Fendry, an area wildlife supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Range: North and South America
Length: 7-9 feet Weight: 80-230 pounds
Life span: 15-20 years
Diet: Deer, elk and small mammals
Sources: Lake County Health Department, ESRI, GDT
The unexpected visit fascinated researchers and put police officers in the unusual dilemma of balancing public safety with the beauty of an animal not seen in Chicago since the city's founding in the 19th Century.
Most wildlife experts who have dealt with the potentially dangerous animal, also known as a mountain lion, said it's difficult to criticize the Chicago Police Department's decision to shoot the cougar Monday evening, saying that such animals pose a threat to humans and are difficult to effectively tranquilize. "Determining what you have to do for public safety can be a gray area," said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for California's Department of Fish and Game. "Mountain lions can be very difficult to tranquilize and then move."
Police defended the shooting Tuesday, saying that the decision to shoot the animal protected bystanders and was not out of line with their usual response to threatening animals.
"There's no time to waste when you have a predator, an animal like this," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. "We shoot pit bulls who charge [at officers], so [would it make sense] to let the cougar charge?"
Mayor Richard Daley supported the police use of lethal force in a news conference Tuesday morning.
"Now, I just want to tell you, if the cougar attacked a child, they'd sue the city because the police officer didn't do their job," Daley said"I didn't see a neighbor run out and grab it and say, 'Oh I love you' and bring it in the house."
Although humans and cougars must live together in many parts of the country, it's extremely rare for them to meet in a densely populated urban area like Chicago, said biologist Alan Rabinowitz, a former researcher at the Bronx Zoo and president of the Panthera Foundation, which is dedicated to helping big cats and people co-exist.
But Monday's encounter pushed the limits of that idea.
"If you don't put an animal like this down fast, you are risking a person's life," Rabinowitz said.
The animal was shot by police shortly before 6 p.m. Monday in the 3400 block of North Hoyne Avenue, police said. Mark Rosenthal, operations manager for the Chicago Commmission on Animal Care and Control, said that a crew was en route to the neighborhood and not on the scene when the shooting occurred.
On Tuesday, officials at the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control sought to answer whether the cougar was wild or had escaped from captivity.
"He did not have any identifying marks as if he had been owned. He was a wild cat," said Donna Alexander, administrator of the agency. She cited the lack of a microchip tag or tattoo, and intact claws and teeth that would normally be removed by pet owners.
Further tests being conducted by a veterinarian from the University of Illinois will determine the age of the cat, and DNA samples taken from the cougar will be given to wildlife officials from other states to try and trace the animal's movements, Alexander said.
A young male cougar will roam away from the land of its birth almost by instinct, many experts said. That could be a reaction to the dangers of genetic inbreeding or of overcrowding.
Clay Nielsen, wildlife ecologist at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and director of scientific research with The Cougar Network, said that more and more cougars are wandering out of high cougar population areas like South Dakota into Midwestern areas that have not seen them for hundreds of years.
"It's gotten to the point where there's no space, and animals have to go outside of the Black Hills," Nielsen said.
Though the cougar spotted in Wisconsin had not caused any safety problems and Fendry had no reports of it killing domestic livestock, he understood the concern that led Chicago police to shoot the animal found in Roscoe Village.
"When an animal gets in a urban area and gets confused, it can respond aggressively," Fendry said. "Occasionally up here, we'll get a bear in an urban area and it will have to be destroyed."
Martarano said tranquilizing a cougar requires such specialized knowledge that California runs training sessions on the technique for biologists and wildlife wardens.
"It's hard to get close enough to get the dart in the right area," said Martarano, who said the darts have no effect if they hit a bone. "It takes a while for the drugs to take effect, and during that period the animal can get agitated. If a lot of people are around, that can cause problems in itself."
Video
Related links
ENCOUNTERING A COUGAR
- Pick up children immediately.
- Do not approach it. Give the cougar an avenue for escape.
- Do not run; this can trigger an attack.
- Back away without turning your back on it.
- Do all you can to look bigger. Don't hide or crouch down.
COUGAR FACTS
Habitat: Rocky canyons, tropical rain forests, prairies, deserts, forests
Range: North and South America
Length: 7-9 feet Weight: 80-230 pounds
Life span: 15-20 years
Diet: Deer, elk and small mammals
Sources: Lake County Health Department, ESRI, GDT
Though California has the most cougars of any state with a population estimated between 4,000 and 6,000, attacks on humans are extremely rare. The state has recorded just 13 attacks since 1990, with three deaths.
"We have to learn to live with them. For the most part, I think we do a pretty good job," Martarano said.
Whether this week's cougar is the harbinger for more exotic animal visitors to Chicago or merely an anomaly remains to be seen.
But once all the tests have been performed, and the long trek of the cougar has been unraveled by wildlife experts, the cougar killed Monday may find its journey's end in the collection of the Field Museum, which has requested the skeleton.
"It's going to stay in Cook County," Alexander said.
Tribune reporter Angela Rozas contributed to this report.
For the record, there have been less than twenty attacks or so on humans and a handful of deaths in North America in the past 100 years, most in California & British Columbia. Up until 1990, there were no attacks on humans since about 1906.
Sorry the links in the story below do not work (I left a few for informational purposes only). Visit this link for the video, links, & original story. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cougar-shot-webapr16,0,1215541.story?page=2
Cougar killed on North Side may have wandered from Black Hills
By Rob Mitchum and Jeremy Manier | Tribune reporters 8:23 PM CDT, April 15, 2008 The voyage may sound improbable, but wildlife officials say that a DNA test should reveal whether a cougar killed Monday in Chicago took a 1,000-mile trip from the Black Hills of South Dakota through Wisconsin before being shot by police in the Roscoe Village neighborhood.
On Tuesday, veterinarians performed a necropsy, an autopsy for animals, on the cougar at the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control facility in Bridgeview. Early evidence indicated that the cougar was of wild origin, rather than an escaped captive, and samples were taken for comparison to blood that a cougar left in January in Milton, Wis.
DNA analysis suggested that the Wisconsin animal was most similar to those which live in South Dakota, and experts say it may be the same specimen that eventually strayed into the city.
"It's intriguing to think it may end up being the one that was here in Wisconsin," said Doug Fendry, an area wildlife supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Range: North and South America
Length: 7-9 feet Weight: 80-230 pounds
Life span: 15-20 years
Diet: Deer, elk and small mammals
Sources: Lake County Health Department, ESRI, GDT
The unexpected visit fascinated researchers and put police officers in the unusual dilemma of balancing public safety with the beauty of an animal not seen in Chicago since the city's founding in the 19th Century.
Most wildlife experts who have dealt with the potentially dangerous animal, also known as a mountain lion, said it's difficult to criticize the Chicago Police Department's decision to shoot the cougar Monday evening, saying that such animals pose a threat to humans and are difficult to effectively tranquilize. "Determining what you have to do for public safety can be a gray area," said Steve Martarano, a spokesman for California's Department of Fish and Game. "Mountain lions can be very difficult to tranquilize and then move."
Police defended the shooting Tuesday, saying that the decision to shoot the animal protected bystanders and was not out of line with their usual response to threatening animals.
"There's no time to waste when you have a predator, an animal like this," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said. "We shoot pit bulls who charge [at officers], so [would it make sense] to let the cougar charge?"
Mayor Richard Daley supported the police use of lethal force in a news conference Tuesday morning.
"Now, I just want to tell you, if the cougar attacked a child, they'd sue the city because the police officer didn't do their job," Daley said"I didn't see a neighbor run out and grab it and say, 'Oh I love you' and bring it in the house."
Although humans and cougars must live together in many parts of the country, it's extremely rare for them to meet in a densely populated urban area like Chicago, said biologist Alan Rabinowitz, a former researcher at the Bronx Zoo and president of the Panthera Foundation, which is dedicated to helping big cats and people co-exist.
But Monday's encounter pushed the limits of that idea.
"If you don't put an animal like this down fast, you are risking a person's life," Rabinowitz said.
The animal was shot by police shortly before 6 p.m. Monday in the 3400 block of North Hoyne Avenue, police said. Mark Rosenthal, operations manager for the Chicago Commmission on Animal Care and Control, said that a crew was en route to the neighborhood and not on the scene when the shooting occurred.
On Tuesday, officials at the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control sought to answer whether the cougar was wild or had escaped from captivity.
"He did not have any identifying marks as if he had been owned. He was a wild cat," said Donna Alexander, administrator of the agency. She cited the lack of a microchip tag or tattoo, and intact claws and teeth that would normally be removed by pet owners.
Further tests being conducted by a veterinarian from the University of Illinois will determine the age of the cat, and DNA samples taken from the cougar will be given to wildlife officials from other states to try and trace the animal's movements, Alexander said.
A young male cougar will roam away from the land of its birth almost by instinct, many experts said. That could be a reaction to the dangers of genetic inbreeding or of overcrowding.
Clay Nielsen, wildlife ecologist at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and director of scientific research with The Cougar Network, said that more and more cougars are wandering out of high cougar population areas like South Dakota into Midwestern areas that have not seen them for hundreds of years.
"It's gotten to the point where there's no space, and animals have to go outside of the Black Hills," Nielsen said.
Though the cougar spotted in Wisconsin had not caused any safety problems and Fendry had no reports of it killing domestic livestock, he understood the concern that led Chicago police to shoot the animal found in Roscoe Village.
"When an animal gets in a urban area and gets confused, it can respond aggressively," Fendry said. "Occasionally up here, we'll get a bear in an urban area and it will have to be destroyed."
Martarano said tranquilizing a cougar requires such specialized knowledge that California runs training sessions on the technique for biologists and wildlife wardens.
"It's hard to get close enough to get the dart in the right area," said Martarano, who said the darts have no effect if they hit a bone. "It takes a while for the drugs to take effect, and during that period the animal can get agitated. If a lot of people are around, that can cause problems in itself."
Video
Related links
- Cops kill cougar on North Side
- Cougar shot, killed on North Side Video
Police kill couView Detailed Version- Reset Map
- <H4>Cougar debate</H4>Do you agree that police needed to kill the cougar?
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ENCOUNTERING A COUGAR
- Pick up children immediately.
- Do not approach it. Give the cougar an avenue for escape.
- Do not run; this can trigger an attack.
- Back away without turning your back on it.
- Do all you can to look bigger. Don't hide or crouch down.
COUGAR FACTS
Habitat: Rocky canyons, tropical rain forests, prairies, deserts, forests
Range: North and South America
Length: 7-9 feet Weight: 80-230 pounds
Life span: 15-20 years
Diet: Deer, elk and small mammals
Sources: Lake County Health Department, ESRI, GDT
Though California has the most cougars of any state with a population estimated between 4,000 and 6,000, attacks on humans are extremely rare. The state has recorded just 13 attacks since 1990, with three deaths.
"We have to learn to live with them. For the most part, I think we do a pretty good job," Martarano said.
Whether this week's cougar is the harbinger for more exotic animal visitors to Chicago or merely an anomaly remains to be seen.
But once all the tests have been performed, and the long trek of the cougar has been unraveled by wildlife experts, the cougar killed Monday may find its journey's end in the collection of the Field Museum, which has requested the skeleton.
"It's going to stay in Cook County," Alexander said.
Tribune reporter Angela Rozas contributed to this report.
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