Cougar killed in Chicago?

Question

Here's my question. Why did animal control show up after this cat was dead? Why didn't they send them to try to tranquilize it and remove it from the area?

Answer 1

Do I enjoy seeing an animal that is quite beautiful and extremely rare in Illinois being killed?  Not at all!  I am a hunter, but I am also a lover of nature.

So why wasn't it tranquilized?

I'm not sure of other police departments, but the CPD are not equipped with tranquilizing equipment.  

Even if they were or animal control was in the area....

There is a 150 found, 5 foot long cat that is a predator.  It is in an area that is probably foreign to it.  It is alone and most likely scared for its life.  This will make the cougar unpredictable.  When an animal is scared is when people get hurt or get killed (ever surprise a bear before?).

Tranquilizers take time to work.  So now you have a big predator that is most likely scared out of its mind and you shoot it with a dart, pissing it off even more.  Does that sound like a good situation?

There were civilians and children in the area.  I am not faulting the animal at all.  After all, animals don't understand physical boundries and where humans think it is OK for them to be at.  However, the fact is that the animal is a predator, a species that has attacked and killed people, a species that is incredibally agile and mobile, and is probably scared out of its mind.  

Personally, I don't fault CPD for shooting the Cougar.  Given the fact there are a number of children in the area, I probably would have shot the thing the moment it looked funny at me (OK, I'm being a little dramatic here....I grew up around bears and have a good idea of knowing when an animal is about to be aggresive.  I would have shot it the moment I thought the animal might turn aggressive toward me or another person)

Even though I said I don't fault the CPD, I do have to wonder a little.  As I live in the area, the CPD kind of has the reputation for being a little on the "aggressive" side.  

I really do hate to see such a beautiful animal destroyed just because it is in the wrong place.  However, as much as I hate to say it, I think it had to be done to protect the public.  I would have hated to see some poor 5 year old kid mauled because it crossed paths with the cougar while it was trying to escape.

Answer 2

because they were idiots...point blank, the poor animale was doing nothin but being there it was a "potential" treat..so they killed it, but hasnt it always been like that, to kill because we were afraid?it wasnt the cougars falt,it was the lack of courage and understanding of the shooter, it was pure fright...

Answer 3

Totally agree with you. Very poorly handled. That animal was a beautiful specimen and should have been saved and put back in an appropriate habitat somewhere.  It had not hurt anyone and just needed to be tranquilized and removed from the city.

It just shows how gun happy law enforcement is. Can't wait for an opportunity to use that gun and kill the enemy. In this case an innocent animal on the endangered species list. Granted animals such as cougars can be dangerous but death should be a last resort.  Now another one was slaughtered for no good reason other than ignorance, fear and lack of understanding.

On the news, they said it probably came from Wisconsin. It's news to me that Wisconsin would have any cougar population unless it came from a circus. Another stupid assumption from the news team.

It made me feel worse to see that dead cougar than if it had been some human. I love animals.

Answer 4

I just saw this on television. The poor scared cougar was trapped in an alleyway and instead of tranquilising and removing it, at least two or three policemen pulled their guns and fired simultaneously. Totally unnecessary. Another beautiful creature treated as disposable. Have we as a race got no respect for other species ?

Answer 5

I don't know the story, but I love animals.  Maybe, it was a threat to humans.  I hate stuff like this.