Indiana cougar sightings to become common

Urban dwellers in Indiana can expect to see more cougars, according to a Purdue expert.

[Kat K]

To the best of my knowledge, cougars (Felis concolor)(while frequently called "pumas" and "mountain lions") have never been known as "bobcats." Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are a completely different species of cat -- smaller, with a different diet, and (yes) a short tail as its name suggests...cougars have a long tail. Confusing the adults of the two species is nearly impossible.
I feel that the sentence "cattle and deer often fall victim in cougar attacks" complicates the fact that deer are one of the cougar's natural prey animals...cattle are not. It is unfortunate that humans and cougars will inevitably find themselves at odds with one another as the cougar makes its way back to the land it once inhabited. I celebrate the return, despite the knowledge that others may be much more wary. Hopefully we'll figure out how to leave one another in relative peace.

[Hermitladee]

Please check your facts. Cougars are not the same as Bobcats. Bobcats are much smaller, have ear tufts and usually have darker stripes or spots.

[Okay]

You should see all of them in the Bars.
There kids have grown up they dumped there old tired out husbands and are on the prowl.

[Cougar in Indiana]

Last night we saw what we assume to be a cougar on the Northeast side of Ft Wayne, basically walking through our yard. This is a huge concern as we have daughters that play outside.

[Tom]

My friend saw a cougar chassing a deer behind her house near Logansport last spring! We have more deer now than ever and the deer needs the cougar to regulate the population. We enjoy Eagles flying along the Wabash. We have river otters again. But there is always going to be those that kill them and that scares me more than a Cat!

[Hayman Smith]

I saw a cougar in Jennings County Indiana in 2004 crossing highway 7 south of town about 6 miles.

Last week (October 29, 2008), in my own woods, I saw what acted like a cat creeping out of some fallen timber. It was about 20 inches high and 40 inches long and was mostly BLACK in color. It was NOT a dog! I have lived here for 20 years and never have seen anything like this. For lack of a better name, I would call it a panther but I don't think they are native in Indiana.

[dan]

Cougar in Indiana wrote:

Last night we saw what we assume to be a cougar on the Northeast side of Ft Wayne, basically walking through our yard. This is a huge concern as we have daughters that play outside.

Where exactly? I live on the northeast side of Fort Wayne.

[Randy Malone]

Hayman Smith wrote:

I saw a cougar in Jennings County Indiana in 2004 crossing highway 7 south of town about 6 miles.
Last week (October 29, 2008), in my own woods, I saw what acted like a cat creeping out of some fallen timber. It was about 20 inches high and 40 inches long and was mostly BLACK in color. It was NOT a dog! I have lived here for 20 years and never have seen anything like this. For lack of a better name, I would call it a panther but I don't think they are native in Indiana.

There have been reports of this in the Uniontown, Indiana area too. This is to the west and close to the border of Jennings /Jackson counties.

[Randy Malone]

There have been reports of a large cat near the Uniontown, Indiana area too. This is close to Jennings county, but, not the area you describe, which, I assume to be Vernon???

[driver monroe cty hwy46E]

Saw what appeared to me to be a cougar crossing hwy 46 between bloomington and nashville indiana. It was 6am and still dark but it showed up in my headlights on the road. First thought it was a deer but it crouched low to the ground and quickly ran across road under the guardrail. It was no dog because of longer thicker body shape and the way it hugged the ground and moved quickly across road.

[Ryan Clark]

I found big cat tracks as big as my hand a mile north of state road 46 just south of yellowood lake. They were coming out of yellowood state forest and heading south into a nature preserve.Their have been very credible sightings in southern brown and monroe counties as well. DNR belives they could be WILD COUGARS coming to INDIANA FROM ILLINOIS. Wild Cougar have been rediscovered in 14 eastern states. COUGAR have been videod in WEST VIRGINIA, KENTUCKY, TENNESSEE, AND SEVERAL OTHER STATES, the DNR now thinks their could be 50-75 WILD COUGAR IN TENNESSEE one was confirmed and videod in LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES NATIONAL RECREATION AREA. By a man named JOHN VINROOT OF THE EASTERN COUGAR NETWORK.

[JDL]

I saw a cougar on I-70 between Richmond, IN and Centerville, IN. It was about 6:00am and the cat ran to the side of the road and was scared away by the truck in front of me. Incredible sight.

[Harvey Wallbanger]

I saw a cougar on the corner of 6th and Columbia the other day, she had long legs and nice breasteses.... OH!! Wrong kind of cougar!! LOL

[saw]

july 30,2009 sighted cougar on back of farm about 1 mile north of grissom

[Harvey Wallbanger]

What was her name? was she in her 40's or 50's??

[ma_pa_kettle]

We saw a cougar cross our field late afternoon on Wed. Aug. 12th. Location Spencer county Indiana, near town of Santa Claus. Deer have been thicker than usual this year and may be the reason. I've heard of mountain lions/cougars in this area back in the fifties. This is the first live one I've even seen. Amazing sight!

[Shelley G]

Last night (early am) I was driving south through a construction zone on I-65 south of W. Lafayette/north of Indy and a large yellow cat-like animal ran across the front of my car and jumped the cement construction barrier as it bounded off. I was at a loss at first, as it was clearly a cat from its jump, but it was far too big and sleekly built to be a domestic cat. I was going appr 60 mph and it came out of nowhere, but cleared the road in plenty of time right in front of my headlights...like bounding across the interstate was a common occurrence.

[Another Siting]

It took about two hours. She was chewing him at the hind quarters, then she finished him off.

[Ray Coyer]

Another Siting wrote:

It took about two hours. She was chewing him at the hind quarters, then she finished him off.

I/we would appreciate more information, place, time. This post is a typical cougar killing technique.

[bfromgrabill]

My step-son and his friend think they saw a young mountain lion crossing the road right where the bridge goes over the river near Grabill, IN (this is 15 miles N of Fort Wayne In, This was in the spring of 2009. Anyone else see anything like this? It was dusk.