Cougar In Chicago

On April 14, 2008, a 150 pound male Cougar was shot dead in the Roscoe Village suburb of Chicago, Illinois.

Police chased the large cat and cornered it against a fence on North Hamilton Avenue. The cougar then turned on the officers, one of whom shot the animal in self defense. The officers were not equipped with tranquillizer guns.

According to Cook County Animal and Rabies Control administrator Donna Alexander, the cougar was a wild cat and not an escaped captive animal.

The cougar was first spotted by residents in the morning, but Animal Control officers who searched the area could not find it.

The previous day, police received four reports of large cat sightings in Wilmette, about 15 miles north of where the cougar was shot. Fast Facts:

1. 150 pounds
2. Five feet long
3. Jumped over a 6 foot fence, according to one witness
4. No one was injured during the incident
5. Shooting occurred around 5:30 p.m.
6. Only 2 cougars have been found in Illinois in the past century:
   1. 2000: Male cougar struck by train in Randolph County
   2. 2004: Male cougar killed by bow hunter in Mercer county

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