A Cougar?

[mustang54]

  Last night i got a call about six oclock from a freind who was at the softball fields south of Pershing on Lombard. He said the Stickney police asked all of the people to take their kids and leave the area. When asked why he told them they found cougar tracks there. He called again a few hours later saying his father called who lives in south Berwyn and said a cougar was sited on 38th and Elmwood. This morning i heard Fox 32 news was interviewing some people who saw it. So be on the look out.

[dukesdad]

I've seen a couple at Olive or Twist.

[Bear]

Was it a female cougar?

[tgoddess]

I haven't been there in WEEKS!   

[truman40]

Thats funny, I just heard that term, this weekend, referenced to a middle aged woman. But I heard it from a lesbian so I thought it meant a middle-aged gay woman.

[Bear]

The best cougars go both ways!

[tgoddess]

Thats funny, I just heard that term, this weekend, referenced to a middle aged woman. But I heard it from a lesbian so I thought it meant a middle-aged gay woman.

See http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=cougar&defid=932553

There doesn't seem to be anything discriminating toward one orientation or another, though most of the definitions seem decidedly hetero.

[Matryoshka]

OMG...if I spot it, I'm gonna call Berwyn and ask for that crazy Animal Control chick to come out and noose the Cougar and skin it for me...I've seen her wrestling w/the 'possums

[rbain]

I've really been amused by the outrage over the CPD killing the cougar in Roscoe Village.

Please...

I grew up where Mountain Lions (cougars) are a concern, and I can tell you if there's a cougar in ROSCOE VILLAGE in broad daylight, unless the mythical "tranquilizer gun" is in your hand at that very moment, the cat need to be killed. This is not a 'possum, or even a Bobcat. It is the 4th largest cat in the world. An apex predator in a frightening and unfamiliar environment is NOT something to take chances with- they can get to 160 lbs, and can take down deer, cattle, and big horn sheep. I think their territories need to be protected and in most cases WE should accommodate THEM in the way we (as a culture) overdevelop once wild lands in the west. But Roscoe Village is not the place to do that.

...silly city people...

-Rob

[OakParkSpartan]

I've really been amused by the outrage over the CPD killing the cougar in Roscoe Village.

Please...

I grew up where Mountain Lions (cougars) are a concern, and I can tell you if there's a cougar in ROSCOE VILLAGE in broad daylight, unless the mythical "tranquilizer gun" is in your hand at that very moment, the cat need to be killed. This is not a 'possum, or even a Bobcat. It is the 4th largest cat in the world. An apex predator in a frightening and unfamiliar environment is NOT something to take chances with- they can get to 160 lbs, and can take down deer, cattle, and big horn sheep. I think their territories need to be protected and in most cases WE should accommodate THEM in the way we (as a culture) overdevelop once wild lands in the west. But Roscoe Village is not the place to do that.

...silly city people...

-Rob

I thought the same thing Rob.  Predators won't just bite you like a dog, but view you as a threat (or meal) which must be killed.  And at their size, no human stands a chance.

The thing was leaping fences with ease...you really want it jumping into a school yard?

Sad, but necessary for it to be killed.

[evangeline]

I've really been amused by the outrage over the CPD killing the cougar in Roscoe Village.

Please...

I grew up where Mountain Lions (cougars) are a concern, and I can tell you if there's a cougar in ROSCOE VILLAGE in broad daylight, unless the mythical "tranquilizer gun" is in your hand at that very moment, the cat need to be killed. This is not a 'possum, or even a Bobcat. It is the 4th largest cat in the world. An apex predator in a frightening and unfamiliar environment is NOT something to take chances with- they can get to 160 lbs, and can take down deer, cattle, and big horn sheep. I think their territories need to be protected and in most cases WE should accommodate THEM in the way we (as a culture) overdevelop once wild lands in the west. But Roscoe Village is not the place to do that.

...silly city people...

-Rob

The majority of people support the actions that were taken, even if they were unfortunate (but necessary). 

[Boris]

I've chatted with a bunch of people who work with big, dangerous animals about this...and every single one agrees that the police acted correctly, as do I. Now, a buddy of mine who works for animal control for the city, and has had lots of experience with big cats, was on his way with a tranq-gun, but didn't get there in time...even he said it was correct for the cops not to have tried to wait for him.

[Vic0218]

I've been out of town...has there been any word on where that cougar came from? Was it someone's pet or wild? Do they think it was the same one that had been spotted up north a week earlier?

I'm not shocked by much, but a cougar in the city....that's a little unexpected.

[Boris]

I've been out of town...has there been any word on where that cougar came from? Was it someone's pet or wild? Do they think it was the same one that had been spotted up north a week earlier?

I'm not shocked by much, but a cougar in the city....that's a little unexpected.

It was wild and all indications point to it coming from South Dakota. If you track where this animal was seen in Illinois and Wisconsin, it appears to have followed railroad tracks, and probably came down via the Metra tracks from the Milwaukee area.

[Crunchie]

It was wild and all indications point to it coming from South Dakota. If you track where this animal was seen in Illinois and Wisconsin, it appears to have followed railroad tracks, and probably came down via the Metra tracks from the Milwaukee area.

It's Blago's fault then. He just gave the free train passes to the cougars.

[Crunchie]

I've chatted with a bunch of people who work with big, dangerous animals about this...and every single one agrees that the police acted correctly, as do I.

Sounds like you canvassed a group of White Castle employees.

[Boris]

Almost...I work at a zoo.

[Crunchie]

I, too, am surprised that suddenly after decades of being eradicated around here, that these things would suddenly pop up in the middle of the city. It makes no sense. Easy pickings could be found in the farm country with herds of cattle, sheep, etc., common in the midwest. I await a better explanation of their presence.

[Boris]

Well, actually there has been a resurgence of carnivorous mammals in the United States in the last few years. People take coyotes for granted in the suburbs, but 25 years ago a coyote in NE Illinois was almost unheard of. Wolves are on the increase in MN and WI, and wolverines appear to be making a comeback (albeit small) in California. What's happening is that animals like these after they reach maturity have to get far away from their parents, and other established adults, or be killed...so they wander, and they can cover a tremendous amount of territory when they want to. They also follow each other a bit.

Coyotes, raccoons, opossum and red fox have all entered the metro Chicago area by following train tracks.

[A.Malina]

 At 2 pm today, saw two deer running near 31st and Ridgeland. Never saw a deer in town before.  Maybe they're trying to evade the cougar just ten blocks south ...