DNA Tests Should Show Where Cougar Came From

By Margaret Lyons in News on Apr 16, 2008 5:20PM

The mysteries about Monday's cougar-shooting continue, and first and foremost on everyone's mind is: Where did that cougar come from? Animal control authorities from Illinois and Wisconsin are running DNA tests to see if this was the same cougar that had been spotted in other residential areas in the Midwest the last few months.

The two-year-old, 122-pound male was not a pet, according to necropsy results, and he may have traveled from the Black Hills of South Dakota, which is a natural cougar habitat. An administrator from the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control department says the animal could have wandered here along railway paths. Um...hobo cougar?! Riding the rails with his cougar bindle? (We know she said walking, but come on.) Also, we need a name for this cougar. Roscoe? Mellencamp? Hm.

The Trib editorial today says "we're not here now to second-guess the police," but then goes on to do exactly that and wonders why the beast wasn't tranquilized instead of killed, concluding that the CPD and animal control should have "a reliable protocol in place" so the "city is fully prepared to handle the next cougar." [UPI, S-T with a serious bummer of a photo, WBBM, photo by Savannah Grandfather]