Wild or Mild Outdoors ?

The first time I saw it was on a dark, early November morning four years ago. It crossed the road in front of me at a lope. I turned the wheel of the pickup so that the headlights followed it into the field. I instantly recognized what it was, but still couldn’t believe I was actually seeing it. Just two days later, just before daylight, at a point five or six miles south of the first sighting, I saw the golden body and overly long tail of the cougar again. It was ambling down a bank along the creek. I hadn’t seen a cougar since, until two days ago, in a photo taken six or seven miles south of the Chicken Ranch.

The cougar, mountain lion, panther, puma, whichever name is placed upon it, is not usually found so far east of the Rocky Mountains. It is most abundant in the western states where human populations are less dense. These cats are nocturnal and loners most of the time, and typically shy away from people and populated areas. That’s why, for years it was easier convincing folks that you saw Elvis shopping in WalMart, than that you had spotted a cougar. The Department of Conservation categorically denied the existence of cougars in Illinois for years, despite good evidence to the contrary. Bow hunters have asked repeatedly for permission to carry side arms for protection while they hunt for deer and turkey with bows. Permission that has still not been granted by Conservation. Not enough sightings to convince them? After those two encounters in one week, I have not personally spotted a cougar again.  But, others have.

There have been many stories (and hoaxes, unfortunately) over the years concerning these big cats. Dogs killed in their pens mysteriously, tracks leading to a tree with a small deer carcass hanging in it. My own mystery, of some animal that was killing my chickens, that carried off the double spring trap I set for it … chain and all. Whatever it was, the mystery critter at my place destroyed the top section of a wooden gate getting out of this particular pen. Most accounts of sightings were credible, but you had to take a persons word for it. These cats are night creatures, so photographic evidence was tough to get. Until, more and more hunters began placing “critter cams” to track deer movements. The cameras revealed the nightly movements of, not just deer, but all nocturnal creatures… including cougars.

One critter cam owner made the papers all over the state recently. As the picture from his camera clearly shows, there’s a cougar on his property. The cougar is unmistakable in this photo. The Department of Conservation has agreed publicly. So… cougars are among us.And very close to the Chicken Ranch. I’m not sure how I feel about sharing the woods with an adult human sized predator cat that can tip the scales at 200 pounds or more.

Now, anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a wilderness lover. I love nature in its proper element, wild and free. A caged animal is only a shell of what it could be. Removed from its free roaming, natural habitat, a zoo animal always looks depressed to me. I love to walk trails and hills. I love to hunt, and I welcome the return of animals that greed, ignorance and stupidity nearly made extinct. Wolves, white tail deer, buffalo, and black bears come to mind. I am happy to see a conservation program that promises to restore North American Wildlife .

My retirement dream has always been to raise a herd of buffalo. Lots of work for sure, but what a magnificent symbol of what our nation used to be. So, I first thought, “Cougars are back, great!” “They will help control the exploding deer population.” Then, I reminded myself that cougars are killers by nature, and that it is not always a comfortable arrangement when humans and predators share the same space.

 
According to Wikipedia, at least 20 people in the US were  certainly killed by cougars between 1890 and 2011, including six in California. Out of the twenty fatalities 10 have occurred in the last 20 years.  Cougar attacks are extremely rare and occur much less frequently than fatal dog attacks, fatal snake bites, fatal lightning strikes, or fatal bee stings. But,children are particularly vulnerable to cougar attacks.. The majority of the child victims listed as fatalities were not accompanied by adults.
Attacks however, as reported by survivors, are on the rise. The big cats seem to be growing less concerned with the presence of man within their wide ranges. Like bears in some suburban areas, cougars could someday  also become a curbside menace. Illinois Department of Conservation  states that a cougar was killed by a Police Officer in 2008 in a Chicago suburb. The big cat was sleeping under a residential porch. You can find the story on You Tube. So... it is real. The big cats have come to call.

 I am not exactly sure where I stand on the cougar issue. I hate to see them killed by hunters. There is this primal part of me that loves knowing they are out there in the woods, watching as I hunt. But, do I feel the same way about them watching my young grandsons? If they kill livestock or poultry will I as readily accept them as part of our rural community? Am I willing for the woods to  become truly wild again, or do I only want a tamer version of wild? These are questions I ask myself as I think of my evening walks in the 16,000 acre woods and prairie near my house. I don’t have all the answers yet. But certainly, as I prepare for these walks, I’ll grab a bottle of water, a snack bar, and now... strap my pistol  to my waist.