Mountain Lion Shot in Whiteside County, Illinois

On November 20th, IDNR Conservation officers responded to a call of a live cougar on a farm in Morrison, Illinois. Farm owners had called the Illinois Department of Natural Resources CPO after spotting a large cougar running towards their barns and lot where a horse was located. After cornering the cat in a concrete tunnel under a corn crib, DNR officers consulted with the farm owners and other wildlife personnel and determined that it would be in the best interest of public safety to put it down. The cougar appeared to weigh more than 100 pounds and was 5-and-half to 6-feet in length.  Wildlife biologists will take possession of the animal and conduct a necropsy, but it is speculated the cougar was a transient from western states, as they will travel hundreds of miles in search of a home range. Whiteside County is located in Western Illinois just south of JoDaviies County. This is the third mountain lion that has been killed in Illinois in the past 2 decades. Get more details HERE.