I've been saying it for years...

[SweetWitch]

The big cats are in Illinois, as well as other parts of the Midwest. I've heard them when I go home for visits. My dad says I'm crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEsa8xmmtbU&feature=share

 

[TE999]

The big cats are in Illinois, as well as other parts of the Midwest. I've heard them when I go home for visits. My dad says I'm crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEsa8xmmtbU&feature=share

That's one gutsy kid. Most people would have paniced and run. Bad move. That interests the cat all the more since their instinct is to pursue escaping prey. That's how those hikers and joggers were killed; they ran. Better to face the critter down, grab something to fight with like a stick or a rock and hope for the best. Better to go down fighting.

 

[El Folo]

My gut's telling me that we're not getting the full story here.

 

[R. Richard]

They can't have a mountain lion in Illinois. Because they don't have anything even close to a mountain in Illinois. QED.

 

[TxRad]

He may have seen a Mountain Lion but he was not attacked by one. I've seen an attack victim on a couple of occasions and the rip in the jacket doesn't match, nor do the scratches in his cap bill. There would be claw puncture marks as the cat grabs and bite marks for the kill.

Things just don't match.

 

[SweetWitch]

They can't have a mountain lion in Illinois. Because they don't have anything even close to a mountain in Illinois. QED.

Mountain lion, cougar, puma--they're all the same type of cat, just adapted to different environments. Missouri has many confirmed big cats living in the wild and in 2008, a big cat was killed in the Chicago burbs. http://www.cougarnet.org/cmw-desc/Chicago-08.htm

One was killed in south western Illinois in 2000, confirmed by necropsy to have been a living in the wild feeding on wild game. http://www.cougarnet.org/cmw-desc/il7-00.htm

Another was killed in north western Illinois in 2004 http://www.cougarnet.org/cmw-desc/mercer-il-12-04.htm

You don't need mountains. You just need a lot of game. Illinois has plenty of it.

 

[SweetWitch]

He may have seen a Mountain Lion but he was not attacked by one. I've seen an attack victim on a couple of occasions and the rip in the jacket doesn't match, nor do the scratches in his cap bill. There would be claw puncture marks as the cat grabs and bite marks for the kill.

Things just don't match.

Many local hunters have caught the animals on wildlife cams, so it's known the animals are there. My way of thinking is the boy probably met up with a young cat. The kid is a big one, as big as a grown man, 6' tall, weighing in over 200 lbs. We grow 'em tough back home, but even the tough ones would have received more damage in a real attack by a full grown cat. It looked as if he may have been a cat toy for a minute or two.

 

[TxRad]

Many local hunters have caught the animals on wildlife cams, so it's known the animals are there. My way of thinking is the boy probably met up with a young cat. The kid is a big one, as big as a grown man, 6' tall, weighing in over 200 lbs. We grow 'em tough back home, but even the tough ones would have received more damage in a real attack by a full grown cat. It looked as if he may have been a cat toy for a minute or two.

Most big cats don't toy with anything it attacks. That said, I have seen a cougar play with a balled up armadillo for almost an hour. It would bat it around, toss it in the air and pounce on it. Then it just walked off into the brush. That was one day i really wished I had brought my camera along.

 

[SweetWitch]

Most big cats don't toy with anything it attacks. That said, I have seen a cougar play with a balled up armadillo for almost an hour. It would bat it around, toss it in the air and pounce on it. Then it just walked off into the brush. That was one day i really wished I had brought my camera along.

If it's any consolation, the Dept of Natural Resources don't really believe him, either. They're investigating, have taken his knife to analyze.

 

[mynameisben]

You know what I've been saying for years? Tossed monkey ball salad.

But NOBODY ever listens to me!

 

[SweetWitch]

You know what I've been saying for years? Tossed monkey ball salad.

But NOBODY ever listens to me!

It suck, doesn't it? If only they'd listen...

 

[mynameisben]

It suck, doesn't it? If only they'd listen...

Well, at least one person is listening. Thanks, SweetWitch.

 

[SweetWitch]

Well, at least one person is listening. Thanks, SweetWitch.

Any time, Ben.

 

[stephen55]

He may have seen a Mountain Lion but he was not attacked by one. I've seen an attack victim on a couple of occasions and the rip in the jacket doesn't match, nor do the scratches in his cap bill. There would be claw puncture marks as the cat grabs and bite marks for the kill.

Things just don't match.

Around my neck of the woods, cougars are rarely seen unless you go looking for them. They rarely attack people as people simply aren't a threat, nor on the regular menu. That said, on rare occasion, someone is attacked.

Perhaps the cat was immature and simply didn't know better.

 

[SweetWitch]

Around my neck of the woods, cougars are rarely seen unless you go looking for them. They rarely attack people as people simply aren't a threat, nor on the regular menu. That said, on rare occasion, someone is attacked.

Perhaps the cat was immature and simply didn't know better.

That's what I thought when I saw the boy's condition. He looked scared enough that something had happened, and had no problem looking straight into the camera or the reporter's eyes. I know the family (but not the kid himself). The family has always been known as good people--and strong outdoorsmen.

 

[Handley_Page]

We keep hearing reports and snatches of film (on TV) of a "big cat" in various places in the UK. I live next to an ancient Royal Hunting Forest and there are several (almost believable) reports of a large black Something there.
It's strange, but I don't recall hearing of evidence of it's hunting the local Deer, though.

 

[SweetWitch]

We keep hearing reports and snatches of film (on TV) of a "big cat" in various places in the UK. I live next to an ancient Royal Hunting Forest and there are several (almost believable) reports of a large black Something there.
It's strange, but I don't recall hearing of evidence of it's hunting the local Deer, though.

Be sure to keep your dogs in at night. Dogs are awfully tasty, they say.

 

[Handley_Page]

If you go down to the woods today,
you're in for a big surprise. . . . . . .

[sadly, my dog died some while ago, but thanks for the tip]

 

[SweetWitch]

He may have seen a Mountain Lion but he was not attacked by one. I've seen an attack victim on a couple of occasions and the rip in the jacket doesn't match, nor do the scratches in his cap bill. There would be claw puncture marks as the cat grabs and bite marks for the kill.

Things just don't match.

And the winner is....TxRad!

The boy fell out of his stand and lied to cover his embarrassment.

 

[TE999]

And the winner is....TxRad!

The boy fell out of his stand and lied to cover his embarrassment.

Oh brother! Now if his ass is attacked and he lives, no one will believe him.

 

[R. Richard]

How about a house cat, on steroids!

 

[Athalia]

Most big cats don't toy with anything it attacks. That said, I have seen a cougar play with a balled up armadillo for almost an hour. It would bat it around, toss it in the air and pounce on it. Then it just walked off into the brush. That was one day i really wished I had brought my camera along.

An interesting observation, because I read somewhere that cougars aren't in the same sub-class as "big cats" such as lions, tigers, and jaguars. They don't roar, they have retractable claws, and their feeding habits are different. So they're classified as "small cats" ....really, really big small cats. (I think that the leopard is another such "big small cat.")

As for being around mountains, I remember that they were common in Florida at one time, and Florida has a conspicuous lack of that particular commodity.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Yeah, well we here in La-La Land certainly aren't. We've got plenty of mountains and a surfeit of lion. Now, like us bears, they're moving into the suburbs. At least none of them have taken up writing . . . yet!