Published: September 24, 2008 12:14 pm            

IDNR calling big cat story a hoax

It’s all a hoax.

That has been the resounding message from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department and Illinois Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Dave Hyatt regarding a cougar or “big cat” being hit by a car in Jasper County.

“The same e-mail is being sent all over the state with the same pictures and different information about the pictures,” said Hyatt.

Rumors picked up speed about the existence of cougars in Jasper County as e-mails, along with specific personal and geographical information about the accident, was sent throughout the area.

The search for the actual existence of a cougar in the area got a boost as Jasper County resident Frank Dhom claimed he saw a cougar or panther several months ago. Along with the visual sighting, Dhom has photos of long scratch marks down the hindquarter of one of his horses.

Those scratches were put off by IDNR wildlife biologist Kevin Woods as being fence scratches. Woods contends a wild animal would never attack such a large animal like a horse from behind because of the threat of being kicked, and a cougar would have gone for the throat of the animal.

Woods also outlined the unlikely event a cougar could wander through the entirety of Illinois, where the cougar is not a native, and make it to Jasper County.

“There have been some cats found in Illinois, but none of those have been confirmed from the wild,” said Hyatt. “I shot a tiger in Ingraham several years ago that escaped its owner. That doesn’t mean there are tigers in Ingraham.”

According to Hyatt, White and Marion counties also have been areas that have had rumored cougar vs. car accidents.

Hyatt said this type of rumor started a few years ago in large part due to a mountain lion being seen on a Jasper County resident’s back porch. That cat, however, was confirmed to being living in captivity.

Tony Huffman can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 135 or tony.huffman@effinghamdailynews.com.