Apr 16 2008
Chicago Cougar Was Wild
The Chicago Tribune and other media sources are indicating that the cougar shot by Chicago police was wild, possibly from the Black Hills of South Dakota. Tribune excerpts:
On Tuesday, veterinarians performed a necropsy, an autopsy for animals, on the cougar at the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control facility in Bridgeview. Early evidence indicated that the cougar was of wild origin, rather than an escaped captive, and samples were taken for comparison to blood that a cougar left in January in Milton, Wis.
DNA analysis suggested that the Wisconsin animal was most similar to those which live in South Dakota, and experts say it may be the same specimen that eventually strayed into the city.
“He did not have any identifying marks as if he had been owned. He was a wild cat,” said Donna Alexander, administrator of the agency. She cited the lack of a microchip tag or tattoo, and intact claws and teeth that would normally be removed by pet owners.
Further tests being conducted by a veterinarian from the University of Illinois will determine the age of the cat, and DNA samples taken from the cougar will be given to wildlife officials from other states to try and trace the animal’s movements, Alexander said.
But once all the tests have been performed, and the long trek of the cougar has been unraveled by wildlife experts, the cougar killed Monday may find its journey’s end in the collection of the Field Museum, which has requested the skeleton.
“It’s going to stay in Cook County,” Alexander said.
Sun-Times excerpts:
One possible lead came from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which contacted Cook County officials to tell them they had collected a blood sample from a cougar they were tracking. A DNA comparison and other tests will be performed to try and figure out where the cat migrated from.
Alexander said the cat could have been following the railway paths — as various recent sightings in North Chicago and Wilmette would suggest. She said it’s possible he was chased off his Wisconsin territory by adult males during this spring mating season.
The cougar was just under 2 years old, weighed 122 pounds and had a fine coat — good color and no lesions.
The big cat expert at the Field Museum — who did not examine the cougar — agreed it was probably wild, based on its elusive behavior. The pristine coat points to a diet of rich deer meat.
“He’s looking for territory, looking for a mate,” said Bruce Patterson, the Field’s curator of mammals. “Young males do a lot of roaming.”
Patterson said the appearance of the cougar is not entirely surprising, given the animal’s population surge in the last 40 years since predator controls — which allow certain animals to be killed — were lifted. Cougars are now roaming into places they hadn’t been seen for 100 years.
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