The Great Cougar Cover Up (Illinois, Michigan)

Remember the lone, wandering cougar that was shot and killed by Chicago police?

Some wildlife experts say it may not have been alone and may not have wandered so far. Are government officials in the Midwest covering up a dangerous and growing cougar population?

In some places, they're called mountain lions. Around here, they're known as cougars.

There are questions about whether government officials here in the Midwest are waging "the great cougar cover-up" by ignoring evidence and disavowing the wild cats' existence.

We know how one cougar's journey ended in the back yard of a Roscoe Village home. But Illinois authorities still don't know is where its journey began.

Although genetic analysis isn't complete, initial tests suggest the cougar made a 950 mile trip to Chicago from South Dakota. Wildlife experts interviewed by the I-Team say it's more likely the cougar came from much closer.

Chamberlain investigates livestock attacks as township supervisor in Parma, Michigan. After documenting numerous accounts of cougars killing farm animals, Chamberlain herself saw one a few months ago near her home.

"We think the population is probably around 100 adults," said Dennis Fijalkowski, Michigan Wildlife Conservancy.

Fijalkowski's wildlife organization says there is a native population of cougars born; bred and residing in Michigan.

"I think we have 1,500 sightings in the last five years. But we estimate that is just a fraction of the total. A lot of people won't come forward because they've been made fools of for so long by the state," said Fijalkowski.

The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy has catalogued evidence; done their own DNA testing and obtained a video of cougars in far southeastern Michigan.

When the woman who shot the video showed it to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, officials told her they were common house cats.

A local video production company with experience in law enforcement cases tested the state's theory by putting a common house cat in the same spot the woman photographed the suspected cougar, and they compared its size to a 6-foot tall man in the middle and the suspected cougar on the left. Conclusion: it was no house cat.

Some cougar experts say it's more likely Chicago's cougar came from the upper peninsula of Michigan than South Dakota, but DNR officials in both states say they have no cougar populations.

"Could be ten, 20 or hundreds of cougar sightings in a year. But many turn out to be dogs, coyotes," said Dan Ludwig, Illinois DNR biologist.

The Illinois DNR has verified only three cougars here since the late 1800s, and those have been within the past several years. In the last six weeks, Illinois DNR biologists have investigated a dozen reports of cougars in metro Chicago and verified none.

In Michigan, retired DNR forester Mike Zuidema says he was ridiculed when he reported seeing a cougar. Zudiema has now documented 1,100 cougar sightings in upper Michigan since the 1950s and believes authorities are trying to hide a growing cougar population.

He says state officials didn't want to pay the costs of managing a new endangered species and that recently a high-ranking Michigan DNR official told him there is a disinformation campaign underway.

"We have been told that when we talk to the press and news channels, not to say it was a mountain lion. You can say the tracks were consistent with mountain lions. Or it probably was a mountain lion. But don't actually say it was a mountain lion, even if you think so," said Zuidema.

That noncommittal approach was taken when the I-Team asked a Michigan DNR official whether there are cougars in his state.

"The department is looking at it. We feel that there is a possibility that there could be individuals scattered," said Adam Bump, Michigan DNR.

And even though some wildlife experts say Illinois could now have a breeding cougar population, DNR officials here also deny it.

"We do not feel there is a viable cougar population in Illinois. But what we do have possibly is transient animals, or what biologists say are dispersing animals, animals coming from their home area where they were born looking for another area," said Ludwig.

The cougar issue was magnified last month when Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley received threatening letters complaining about the animal shot and killed by police. The FBI is now investigating whether those threats are connected to an arson next to Daley's vacation home in Michigan.

>> “He says state officials didn’t want to pay the costs of managing a new endangered species...”<<

“ENDANGERED SPECIES”

Considering that California, Oregon, and Washington have more than PLENTY of cougars, making the “Eastern cougar” an endangered species s a serious bad thing.

1. Making a large predator which can and does kill and eat humans, not to mention livestock, is a serious mistake.

2. It will become a major crime, to kill, hit, or even shout at, a cougar, even if it is eating your calf (or thigh!).

3. You will not be allowed to do anything anywhere near where a cougar might live. If you think this is an exaggeration, you need only consider the pseudo-endangered Spotty Owl.

See no cougar, hear no cougar, speak no cougar. Or you will regret it.

LOL. All kinds of critters are making their way to God's Country: See An Armadillo, Turn It In It used to rare to see a coyote in Tennessee. Now there is a liberal hunting season on this non-native species. Turns out now there may be another new animal, typically found in the western U.S., calling Tennessee home. Lee Griggs, an undergraduate senior at Belmont University researched the exotic and possibly invasive animal species as part of his research class at Belmont last summer. Griggs talked to many people and decided to research the rare and fairly unfamiliar Nine banded armadillo, according to officials with the Tennessee Wildlfie Resources Agency. A few people had spotted the armadillo in different areas such as near I-40, on Highway 100, Belle Meade Blvd., and even downtown Nashville. Armadillos are so rare in Middle Tennessee that many zoologists, environmental professionals, etc. know only a little about the strange creatures, and about how many are here. "Lee decided to hopefully set the foundation for further research or knowledge about these animals by asking the question, 'How prevalent are the armadillos in Middle Tennessee and to what extent,'" said TWRA officials. Griggs also is planned to set up a recorded database of armadillo sightings to help learn about where they could be researched in the future. TWRA officials said persons can e-mail Lee regarding any sightings griggsa@pop.belmont.edu and he will enter the information in the database. His plan was to gather valuable results from July through December 2005. Most sightings to this point have been in areas of Warner Parks, near water, since they seem to be found there more often. The armadillo has become well established in many southern states; it is even the state mammal of Texas. They are best known for being roadkill as well as digging up people's gardens, but Lee believes that knowing more about them now will help in controlling/monitoring them in the future. Most importantly, he hopes the information derived from his project will be informative and helpful to various wildlife agencies in managing these animals as they progress into Middle Tennessee, said TWRA. Does Tennessee Have An Alligator Population? Surrounding states like Mississippi and Georgia have established alligator seasons the past few years, and Alabama wildlife officials are considering one. Arkansas has reintroduced the animals, and officials there hope to have a hunting season someday. Here in Tennessee alligator sightings are becoming more frequent around the Memphis area, making one wonder if there might one day be an established population here in the Volunteer State. News reports from Memphis television stations have described recent sightings of alligators near the Mississippi River and McKeller Lake. According to TWRA officials there have been about five alligator sightings around these areas, the first reported last April. They have confirmed two sightings, one about 6 1/2 feet long, the other about five 1/2 feet. Alan Peterson, TWRA wildlife biologist said officials have expected alligators would show up in Tennessee, since the state of Arkansas released these in a federal refuge several years ago. He said officials knew it would be just a matter of time until the reptiles made it here.

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