Mountain lion killed by car in northern Illinois

A mountain lion, also known as a cougar, was struck and killed by a vehicle on Interstate 88 in northern Illinois on Sunday, according to officials with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

The animal was transferred by the Illinois State Police to the University of Illinois for a full necropsy and DNA analysis. The analysis will provide valuable information to biologists about the animal, its place of origin, and exploratory movements across the Midwest.

Wildlife biologists believe it may be the same mountain lion that was captured on a trail camera on private property in Whiteside County last month.

IDNR is monitoring another mountain lion reported in western Illinois in early October. This animal has a GPS collar that was originally attached last November by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as part of research on their mountain lion population and movement patterns. That animal recently made an eastward journey across Iowa and into Illinois. 

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 April 2008. The fourth was killed by Illinois Conservation Police at a farmstead in Whiteside County. All were sub-adult (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.

Cougars have been protected in Illinois since 2015. Cougars may not be hunted, killed, or harassed unless there is an imminent threat to person or property. 



Photo:  Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources