According to the Illinois State Police, a mountain lion (Puma concolor – cougar) was struck and killed Sunday night on Interstate 88 near Maple Park in DeKalb County.
Troopers originally responded to a call of a car accident involving a deer on eastbound I-88 near milepost 104.25. When troopers arrived at the scene, they discovered the animal was not a deer, but a mountain lion.
None of the occupants of the vehicle were injured in the accident, according to officials.
The animal was transferred by the Illinois State Police to an IDNR wildlife biologist and has been delivered to the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana (UIUC) for a full necropsy and DNA analysis. The UIUC analysis will provide valuable information to biologists about the animal, its place of origin, and exploratory movements across the Midwest.
IDNR experts believe it may be the same mountain lion that was captured on a trail camera on private property in Whiteside County in late September and confirmed by wildlife biologists from IDNR and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Mountain lions were eliminated from Illinois prior to the 1870s due to habitat loss and overharvest. Although extremely rare in Illinois, mountain lion sightings have been confirmed in Illinois during the past few decades consisting of younger animals, typically originating from a population in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Mountain lions have been protected in Illinois since 2015, and it is unlawful to hunt, kill, or harass them unless they pose an imminent threat to a person or property. The IDNR stated that it is very rare for a mountain lion to pose a threat to people or property. However, if encountered and the animal does not immediately flee, people should stand tall, wave their arms, throw stones or other objects, and yell. Do not run, but slowly back away from the site, keeping an eye on the animal.
