cougar/ mountain lion in Illinois

[huntillinois]

  I've heard some rumors about DNR releasing some around in Illinois. Just wondering if anybody else has heard anything.
      I had a lady describe what she saw and she said it was a big cat.  She stated that it was to big to be a dog and that it was a tanish color and had a really long tail.  she seen it out in a cut corn field. The area she said that she seen it in is just north of where i live and i can hunt some ground nereby this location. We all know how these rumors get started so i was just curious.  i'm going to try to get up there and look for signs of it. can anybody tell me what i need to be looking for.
    If this is true, what do u do?  as far a i know there is nothing saying i can hunt it, but yet there is nothing saying I can't.

[FinsnFur]

I'd be looking for cat tracks 

We just had a confirmed sighting in northern Wisconsin

[iahntr]

Jim they're migratin farther,,, we better get after em. 

We talked about this a little while back about sightings in Iowa. I know there have been confirmed sitings, and even some shot and hit by a car.
So I don't doubt the possibilities of them being in Illinois. The rumor of DNR releasing them has been flying around here to. I do, personally,  highly doubt any DNR releasing any.  I would think there would be some extreme liability in that. The only thing I would double check is if it is legal for you to shoot one if you see one. I know right now in Iowa there is no season on them, but they are not protected either.

[Padogkiller]

Well if Illinois Game Commission is anything like Pa. Game Commission they will just say its somebody`s pet that couldn`t care for it any longer and just released it. And then they will say there hasn`t been any mountain lions around here for over a 100 years. 

[THO Game Calls]

Where exactly are you in Illinois? 

I grew up there, never saw one when I was a kid.   We have them here in NH and Vermont, so I would guess they are there too.

AL

[huntillinois]

    I'm in central Il. I dont think I would put anything past The DNR.  it showes in the hunters digest now that we have to know the difference between a coyote and a wolf.  So apparently we have wolves around somewhere.

[ilcoyote]

Nope just bullshit.  Bobcats are being release farther up north. You would be surprize how on how many PEOPLE think a bobcat is a couger.  Bobcats will leave a big paw  print, and they do have a tail. If there is any big cats lance and larry would be seeing them in the shawnee, and stan and I would be seeing them up here on old mine grounds.  Been tring for a year to see a film that was taken last year of a supposely  couger only to just get told the other day that Idnr came and grap it and told the guy not to say anything about !!.  This guy was full of shit.
It is almost every dam day that some one is saying I seen a couger!!! What bunch of idiots!!! We found out first hand last year when I got a call from a ostrich farmer that a COUGER was killing his birds. So we went out to his farm and look at the last bird that was killed and there was a big cat track in the mud and some cuts on its back and it left some teeth behind which IDNR did come out there and look the bird over and told the guy it wasnt a couger. Well we went out there to do a evening hunt for coyotes and a couger one evening when his nieghbor came hauling ass down his drive screaming the couger was in his back pasture and heading this way! so stan and kevin and me and the farmer went to this guys pasture and set up only to have this huge BOBCAT to show up. Just to say that this guy and his wife and the owner of the ostrich didnt realize how big bobcats got and that they have a tail. And yes this tom was killing his birds sence he lift his two canie teeth in the bird back. But not no more. Biggest cat IDNR has ever seen 40 plus pound.  We have always had wolves around here for years, they are prarie wolves which is a bit smaller and redder then coyotes. The greys been around for a few years but mostly up north.
Wait tell next week when some one else will be telling you they seen a couger and it just keeps on going.