North Shore Cougar Sighting Deemed "Credible"
By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 10, 2012 2:15PM
Police in Glencoe have asked residents to be on alert for a cougar or cougars in the North Shore suburb after a July 26 sighting. It was the latest in a series of reported mountain lion sightings in the north suburbs in recent months.
Although there hasn’t been any photographic evidence of the felines, Glencoe Public Safety Director Michael Volling is taking a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” approach. The latest sighting occurred July 26 near the intersection of Dell Place and Lakeside Terrace. A Glencoe public safety official said he spotted “a large cat-like animal resembling a cougar” and was hesitant to report the sighting because he feared no one would believe him.
As our weekend environmental expert Josh Mogerman pointed out in June, it’s very plausible there are mountain lions in the area. The Journal of Wildlife Management reported that there have been 178 confirmed cougar sightings in the Midwest and evidence points to an eastward migration of the species, whose population numbers have increased enormously in recent years.
Volling asked Glencoe residents to take a photo and send it to police if they happen to spot a cougar. The town of Northfield, which has also had reports of cougar sightings, is asking its residents to treat a cougar the same way they would coyotes: make sure garbage is properly stored and no food left out for them to scavenge.