Mountain Lion Sightings Reported in Illinois Despite Said Extinction

Photo byZach KeyonUnsplash

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Mountain lions, once eliminated from Illinois by 1870 due to habitat loss and hunting, are making sporadic appearances in the state.

According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, between 2002 and 2023, there have been ten confirmed sightings, mostly of young males.

These sightings suggest that mountain lions from South Dakota and surrounding regions are dispersing eastward in search of new territories.

According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the first confirmed sighting in Illinois occurred in 2002 when a mountain lion was killed by a train in Randolph County. Two years later, a bow hunter in Mercer County killed another.

In 2008, a mountain lion was shot in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood. More recent encounters include trail camera images from 2012 and 2014 in various counties, and in 2013, Illinois Conservation Police killed a mountain lion on a farmstead in Whiteside County.

In 2022, two separate mountain lions were confirmed in Illinois. One was killed by a vehicle on I-88 in DeKalb County, while another, equipped with a GPS collar from Nebraska, was tranquilized and relocated after wandering into Springfield, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

In 2023, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) monitored additional sightings in Schuyler, Scott, Morgan, Greene, and Jersey counties.

Despite these occurrences, there is no evidence of resident breeding populations in Illinois.

However, as populations grow in neighboring states, more dispersing mountain lions may pass through Illinois, posing new challenges for wildlife management.