I also hunt in the Thompsonville area and the land owner has seen signs posted asking to report any cougar sightings, this was last summer.
He was going to show them to me but they were removed before we got around to it.

Like DougE posted (UM's picture) the cat is way to small to be a cougar, looks like a house cat to me.

I was being sarcastic with the "miniature" black panther comment. lol

Hmmmmmmmmmm?

Hmmmmm what?That's not a cougar.

I have no idea what it is, hence the question mark. But it suggests to me that someone could report seeing a very big black cat that wasnt a house cat and it could, in fact, be true.

Just to be clear, I don't buy into all the black panther stories that I have being hearing all my life either. But, I guess it could happen with panthers if it can with other big cats. Otherwise it is kind of like saying that it is possible to have an albino deer, but not an albino buffalo.

Interesting recent story on panthers in Iowa

http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/...in-iowa-county

There are black leopards and to a small degree,some black jaguars,neither of which live in the U.S.If people believe they're seeing black panthers,they're seeing black housecats,black labs,black coyotes,fishers or even bears in you have them in Il.It's much more plausible to think these sightings are of animals that are known to actually exist.

I won't argue about mountainion lions having a presence in Il.I know nothing about the state other than they have a few confirmed cases.We get hundreds of alleged sightings every year in Pa.I even know several credible people that claim to have seen them.Thing is,there isn't one shred of actual evidence.No confirmed tracks,scat,roadkills,dead bodies,photographs or kills made by these animals.A mountain lion averages one deer a week.If there was a breeding population,there would be some sort of evidence,not just speculation and unconfirmed sightings.I've seen a multitude of photos and trail cam pictures posted on this website and several others claiming it was a mountain lion.In every single case,it was glaringly obvious that the picture was either a housecat or a bobcat.I've seen threads go on for days with people argueing back and fourth that the a very clear and obvious picture of a bobcat was a mountain lion.People simply don't know what they're looking at in most cases.A couple years ago,there was one posted on here from Pa or NY.It WAS A CLEAR PICTURE OF A LIGHT COLORED BOBCAT IN A FIELD NEAR A SALT BLOCK.I'd like to dig that thread up becasue it illustrates very clearly how confused so mnay people are.

Again,I don't claim to know what the situation is in the midwest.For all I know,there very well could be a breeding population in some of those states.I have no problem with that.I do have issues taking people serious that claim to see an animal that simply doesn't exist.

Well, like I said, I am pretty skeptical of stories of black panthers. But given that there are a couple different species of big black cats as well as the possibility of a genetic mutation that could conceivably produce a black panther, I am not gonna rule anything entirely out. And I think that we all know that sometimes animals turn up in places where they just aint supposed to be.

There was a sighting of a cougar the week after opening day deer hunting by the harwood bombing range in wisconsin. Maybe it was the same cougar that was shot in chicago.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier. I must have missed it. This is in Johnson county - home of the big black cats!

Goreville Black Cats lol