Illinois: DNR Brings Down Big Cat Spotted By Ill. Farmers

[Scuba]

http://wuis.org/post/harvest-blog-dnr-brings-down-big-cat-spotted-ill-farmers

Illinois Conservation Police Officers this week were sent to Whiteside County to euthanize a large female cougar spotted prowling near a farmer's home.

According to the Dept. of Natural Resources, cougars are not protected in Illinois, and biologists will study the deceased cat. As DNR states below, cougar sightings in Illinois are extremely rare.

The following is from IDNR:

An IDNR Conservation Police Officer (CPO) on Nov. 20 responded to a call from a Whiteside County farm owner that a large cat had been seen exiting a corn field [near Morrison], running toward the farm owner’s home and outbuildings. When the CPO arrived at the farm, he made contact with the farm owner’s wife, who was in the house, and checked a horse barn and lot where the landowner’s horses were located. The cougar was discovered in a concrete tunnel beneath a corn crib.

After consulting with the farm owner’s wife and IDNR law enforcement and wildlife personnel, and at the farm owner’s request, it was determined that the cougar should be euthanized. The CPO dispatched the animal with his IDNR-issued rifle. The cougar appeared to weigh more than 100 pounds and was 5-and-half to 6-feet in length. Wildlife biologists will take possession of the animal and conduct a necropsy.

More at the link. Was relocating this magnificant animal was out of the question?