Rollerball

The Cougar did not just wander into the city, (doesn't anyone read my posts?), this could not have happened because there are no wild cougars in Illinois, or any other midwestern state that I am aware of. This animal could only have come from someone's home, so there is a huge question as to how dangerous it was.

Just a few months ago a coyote wandered into the Chicago downtown area, there was no doubt that he was wild, but they managed to dart that fella. The only difference here was the cougar was unlucky enough to get a trigger happy cop as a first responder.

And don't say you are sure it was necessary because you don't know. I don't know either, neither of us were there, but I believe in all likelihood this was not a dangerous animal that was unfamiliar with humans.

Noob920

Okay, I'm fairly sure it was necessary. Why else would a police officer fire his weapon and have to complete all that paperwork?

I've heard stories about wild animals wandering into the Bronx as well. Animals show up in the strangest places.

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Originally Posted by BillCosby

I am usually a nice easy going person........ Although ever time I drive by that bar my Xwife cheated on me @ I get a bit troubled.........

But I am sure that is not the reason I kick that damn dog after........

Seems like he deserves it when I take that route home......

serum114

The cougar looked pretty healthy. Making it less desperate for food. I would have a difficult time believing that it was dangerous to the point it couldn't have been darted. Out my way attacks have occurred in more rural areas out on bike paths where housing is creeping up on the wild life. But the cats have all been starving to death which adds to the likelihood of an attack.

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The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.
Hunter S. Thompson

Noob920

Cats are predators and natural hunters. Did you ever play with a cat using a ball and string or a laser pointer? Hungry or not, they will attack it. If a person saw the cougar and ran, the cat would have chased it down. It's too big and dangerous an animal to take chances with.

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Originally Posted by BillCosby

I am usually a nice easy going person........ Although ever time I drive by that bar my Xwife cheated on me @ I get a bit troubled.........

But I am sure that is not the reason I kick that damn dog after........

Seems like he deserves it when I take that route home......

ocealdia

Your exactly right, another dang trigger -happy cop, oh how big of him to shoot the bad, bad cougar. They could have used the same method on the cougar as they did the coyote.

I'm sorry. but people having wild animals such as this as their pets is cruel and irresponsible.

I heard the police and/or city are taking heat on this action, as well they should.

PursuitOfHappinessParty

So next time the first cop should try to pet it and see if it's wild?

I only say this, as this kind of thread turns into a 'F the Police' thread, and that's not really apropro or just. It's easy to sit at a computer and tell people after the fact how they should've reacted during an emergency. It's like saying there's fleets of Animal Control people just waiting to cordon off the area with dart guns. Simply not true. You do see on the news where some animal (like a slower bear) is cornered and watched until a dart gun shows up, but with a cougar near a school?

There are the occasional cougars found in all kinds of place, but I do agree (see earliest post) that this one is suspect. If it turns out to be an escaped pet, the owner will certainly get hammered.

BTW, there is NO comparing a coyote to a cougar.

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For all those brainiacs that got themselves an ARM, I suggest an APT.!

Rollerball

Look who's an expert on animal behavior now.


And I agree, a cougar would be more dangerous than a single coyote, but please, stop with the "NEAR A SCHOOL" bullshit. It sounds like the same BS our leader uses to get us scared of terrorist. No matter where you are in Chicago you are near a school, so this 'near a school' crap is just a tag to make it even more sensational.

PursuitOfHappinessParty

Glad to see people care, tho. Enough to get mad and vent on-line. Maybe humans don't suck after all

People who hate people will bag on the people.

People who hate cops will bag on the cops.

People who hate animals will hate the animal.

I don't know the geography of Chicago. All I can use are those statements given by officials at the scene, anything on a website is too subjective.

The officials at the scene say a good sized cougar was on the move in a residential area near an elementary school, they found it and shot it. I'm assuming that every effort was taken to use whatever dart rifle or trap was available and prudent as there's no reason for there not to have been. That the animal unfortunately came across officers with firearms as opposed to one with a dart gun is just the last bit of bad luck in the cougar's already string of unfortunate events.

But he was in a residential area, he is a large predator, and according to the C.O.P. there was an elementary school near-by. That's THREE very big things to consider when combined. And it's consideration began when you get an emergency phone-call in downtown Chicago, not Africa! People who handle spousal abuse and pot busts combined with the dog-catcher to find and handle a cougar. Now. Right now before somebody in the neighborhood gets hurt, before the news crews show up, before the spectators show up.

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For all those brainiacs that got themselves an ARM, I suggest an APT.!

PursuitOfHappinessParty

If it's any kind of newer residential area, it has a school near-by. Seems to be the way of things everywhere. It sure is in DFW.

Yet doesn't that support the 'near-by elementary school' defense?

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For all those brainiacs that got themselves an ARM, I suggest an APT.!

Rollerball

Even in age old Chicago, even in 100 yr old residential areas, it has a school near by.

My point isn't that the claim of a "near-by elementary school" is not supported, I have no doubt there was a school nearby. It would also have been true to say it was near a church. Or near a bar, that would also no doubt be true. The cougar wasn't issue enough? Why do they need to push the fear?

"JUST IMAGINE FOLKS! THIS VICIOUS CAT WAS TWO STEPS AWAY FROM CLAWING IT'S WAY THROUGH A KINDERGARDEN CLASS, MAYBE YOUR CHILD'S KINDERGARDEN CLASS!!!"

Hold the extra fear please.
This would be an issue for me even if they didn't kill the cat. Why can't they please stop pushing the fear? You should have heard the morons on local news the day after that coyote was captured last year, listing all the things a Chicagoan should do to protect themselves if they should come face to face with a coyote... as if this happened more than once in the last 100 years and people were being taken off the streets all the time by wild creatures.

I just can't stand how stupid they get with pushing the fear. After all the Bush years of getting fear rammed down our throats, using it as a tool to get everything he wants, I have no tolerance left for any kind of trumped up fear mongering.