Posted: April 16 2008 2 a.m. EDT
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| A cougar like the one shown here was shot by Chicago police in an alley. |
A cougar was shot and killed by police Monday in the Roscoe Village neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Police officers cornered the 150-pound big cat in an alley on the 3400 block of North Hoyne Avenue shortly before 6 p.m., after receiving numerous reports of a cougar roaming the area and leaping over fences.
The decision to shoot the cougar was made after the big cat turned toward officers, Chicago Police Capt. Mike Ryan told the Chicago Tribune. Police could not tranquilize the cougar because they were not armed with tranquilizer guns, Ryan said.
Wildlife experts interviewed by the Chicago Tribune said the use of lethal force was justified. "It's not worth taking any risks," said Clay Nielsen, wildlife ecologist at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and director of scientific research for the Cougar Network. "Cougar attacks do occur even if they're very, very rare. The bottom line is you never know, and when you have a scared public, sometimes the lethal solution is the best one."
Mayor Richard Daly also supported the actions of the police officers.
According to a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, cougars are not protected by the state’s wildlife code because they are not considered a normal part of the ecosystem.
It is unclear whether the cougar was an escaped pet or a wild animal. Several people reported seeing a cougar in North Chicago near Wilmette, Ill., in March. A big cat spotted near Milton, Wis., in March also was confirmed to be a wild cougar.
To watch a video report of the incident from Chicago TV station WGN, click here.