Comments on: Illinois Mountain Lion Attack

By: 3brownies

3brownies — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 06:05:42 +0000

This has been several years ago, about 1982, but I was driving with students in the drivers’ ed. car in Greene County, IL around Belltown, between White Hall and Carrollton. As we were driving down old 267, I noticed a black animal in the road about 50 yards away. We stopped to look at it. At first I thought it was a good sized black labrador around 60-80 pounds. But as I noticed the tail was not rigid like a dog’s tail but was waving like a cat’s tail. A couple of seconds later it vanished into a brush pile along side the road.

By: cranecreekpanthers

cranecreekpanthers — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 05:26:09 +0000

On local Quincy IL TV, the above story was proven to be a made-up story, the scratches on the hat were created by the boys pocket knife. No Big Cat was ever there. But there are Big Cats in West-Central Illinois, as there are several sightings each year, this year, and many past years for many family generations. The Big Cats are here, Black and Tawny Brown. None have been reported as large as western mountainlions.

By: kittalia

kittalia — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:17:10 +0000

If he lives in Illinois, he’s probably never seen a cougar, except pictures. And they look different in the wild. If he described it perfectly, he saw it.

By: tomboygal

tomboygal — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:39:53 +0000

Cougar is more like it; bobcats are small and have bobbed tails–that’s where their name comes from.
This kid–is described as a pretty big young man–who has been hunting for years; I am sure he is pretty sure on what he saw and what attacked him.
I don’t know why the DNR does not believe people are seeing these big cats. Hopefully, no one does get hurt–before they do something about letting people control them–or stop them.
Back in 2002 or 2003 there was one caught on a trailcam in Pike Co., IL and the picture was in the paper—it was two corn rows long—I remember I just started hunting there–and I was a bit leery of going into the woods in the dark–to get into my deerstand, but felt safer once up the tree–; this year–I will be worried again about every thing I hear.
Plan to have my hunting knife readily available.

By: recurve

recurve — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:31:54 +0000

Very interesting! I don’t know how big the boy is but if it was a cougar it must have been either very young and inexperienced or escaped from captivity or his wounds would be much more significant. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a cougar but I’m thinking bobcat on this one.

By: Brian Bradshaw via Facebook

Brian Bradshaw via Facebook — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:53:42 +0000

It’s gonna take more attacks & God forbid, possibly a death, before state governments start admitting mountain lions exist in places we are told they don’t.