drstalker

I hunted the first firearms season in southern Illinois on my uncles property recently and he showed me tracks from one of two cougars that have been seen in the area.Iusually bow hunt the day before slug season opens up.Anyhow while bowhunting earlythat morning I did indeed see a cub or kit from the female cougar near my stand which I thought was really neat.After talking with my uncle he told me something he was told from a retiredIDNRguy,and that was that the IDNR has released rattle snakes and cougars in the area.We never hear of these things and the IDNR initially denied releasing bobcats in Illinois.The stunning thing that I was told from a good friend recently(that hunts near Farina IL)that a plane flying slowly over the area was throwing snakes out of a plane,it was reported to the local police bya relative of his,and she was told the it was the IDNR doing it.My good friend told me that the snakes are a non reproducing snake that they released to eat turkey eggs and such.Why doesn't the state just issue more turkey permits and or lenghthen the season?I was just wondering if any of other guys from Illinois knew any of this.The cougars in the area where I hunt made me pretty nervous while walking to my stand at dark morning.

sjsfire

I'm just gonna sit back and keep an eye on this thread...........

11pt

Well I'm glad they're finally doing something aboutall thosestupid turkeys! Man I hate those things.Of course anyone who's seen Jurassic Park can tell you, those snakes are eventually going to find a way to reproduce. They'll probably breed with native rattlers to create a race of super-snakes and the state will have to air-drop genetically engineered super-mongooses (or is it mongeese?) to hunt them down!

Man you made my day.....

cherokee75

I have no doubts that there are wild cougars roaming IL as there have been sightings in my neck of the woods. Also, in New Boston, IL or near it a few years ago,a hunter found a dead cougar. It was on the local news and in the local paper. As far as the DNR releasing rattlesnakes and cougars, that doesn't seem very likely to me. Since when have turkeys been so abundant that the DNR is trying to keep their numbers down? And to use rattlesnakes?

Pat Curtis

The first thing they would probablydo is extend the season and/or offer larger bag limits. The DNR will do anything to bring more money in. Buying wildlife and secretly releasing them to the wild doesn't seem logical in this case.

drstalker

I find it hard to believe also about the snakes,but I heard it from two different folks in areas that are about 100 miles apart.Cougars don't need to be introduced into an area,they are known to roam and can range around 50 miles whithin a week,I beleive I read that somewhere.Last spring I saw what looked like a cougar near Mahomet Illinois while I was traveling west on interstate 74.

karabiner

Which is/ was it? Cougars or Bobcats? As to the rattlers, there is a species of snake native to Illinois which has the capablity to rattle; but don't get it confused with the Western Diamondback. Snakes thrown from a plane?????? Maybe those were items Gov. Ryan throwing out on his way to jail.

sjsfire

I'm thinking this would be a good experiment for the Myth Busters Show. Would any snake survive being dropped out of a air plane?? Maybe

11pt

Actually, southern Illinois does have timber rattlers (some quite large), copperheads, and cottonmouths....but I would take any one of them over the brown recluses any day.

GSPsnFORDs

I doa lot of hunting near Okawville and have seen a bobcat only 1 time. But I know others that have seen them multiple times and have even seen cubs following their mother. So I do know bobcat arounds.

Apparently down in Coulterville there was a Cougar that was shot during the first shotgun season. IDNR came out to the guy's place and wanted to ask questions...said he wasn't in trouble for shooting it and said the IDNR just wanted to know if Cougars really were around. I have also talked to somebody who knew somebody who had shot a Cougar during the first shotgun season too. Also know of some pictures of Cougar tracks south of the Okawville area. There have also been plenty of recent reports around my hunting area (more south of where I hunt) about Cougar sitings.

I know, this is a lot of 2nd hand info, but I believe it all based on the people that I'm hearing it from....so yeah, I think there's Cougars around now.