Illinois mountain lion captured, will be shipped to sanctuary

After several days of GPS tracking and observing a mountain lion on the west side of Springfield, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources made the decision Friday to tranquilize the animal and transport it to a wildlife sanctuary.

Wildlife experts and the Springfield Police Department determined that the cougar that had strayed into residential and business areas of Springfield posed a potential threat to residents and property.

The animal, which made its way to Illinois from Nebraska, was detected by satellite on the west edge of the city  Wednesday morning. IDNR officials conferred with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, who declined an offer to send the mountain lion back to their state.

USDA Wildlife Services staff tranquilized the mountain lion around noon on Friday and will be transporting the animal to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana that provides homes and veterinary care for large and exotic cats.

The young male has been moving through central Illinois the past few weeks. It was captured and fitted with a GPS collar by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission last November as part of a research project. 

This is the second case of a mountain lion found in Illinois this fall. Another cougar was struck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 88 in northern Illinois on Oct. 16.

Four cougar carcasses have been confirmed in Illinois between 2002 and 2019. A cougar was killed by a train in Randolph County in 2002. Another was killed by a bow hunter in Mercer County in 2004. A third male was shot and killed in the Roscoe Village neighborhood in Chicago in 2008. The fourth was killed by Illinois Conservation Police at a farmstead in Whiteside County. All were 2 to 3 year old males. DNA analysis indicates these four animals were genetically similar to cougars from South Dakota, and strongly suggests that these are all wild males dispersing from that western population.

Mountain lions were eliminated from Illinois prior to the 1870s due to habitat loss and overharvest.

IDNR receives numerous reports of mountain lions in the state each year. Most often the alleged sightings are determined to be cases of mistaken identity with other animals, such as feral cats or bobcats. Regardless, IDNR documents and investigates all reports by the public.

There is no evidence that resident breeding populations of cougars exist in Illinois at this time. As populations in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Rocky Mountain states increase, it is possible that cougars will disperse through Illinois in search of new territories.

Local outdoorsmen might remember the trail cam photo of a mountain lion in Obion County, Tennessee in October of 2015, just a few miles east of the Mississippi River.