Cougars appearing in Midwest states in increasing numbers

Cougars, the feline predators relegated to the Western half of the country for more than a century, are appearing in increasing numbers in the Midwest, and an SIUC scientist is seeking funding to research the trend. Clayton Nielsen, wildlife ecologist with the SIUC Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab, is working with the Cougar Network, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying cougar-habitat relationships and the role of cougars in ecosystems, to seek funding for research into cougar appearances in Midwestern states.

Nielsen joined the Cougar Network as the director of scientific research two years ago, when his interest in the issue of cougar migrations to the Midwest stemmed from his own research on bobcats in southern Illinois, he said. "We've been able to document 22 confirmed cougars the past 20 months in 10 Midwestern states and one Canadian province," he said. "Evidence of cougars coming back into the Midwest, where they have been extirpated for 100 years, is a fascinating topic." Two cougars have been found in Illinois in the past five years, according to the Cougar Network. A 110-pound male cougar was found killed by a train in June 2000 just 40 miles west of Carbondale in the town of Chester. And last December a cougar was shot and killed by an archer in New Boston, across the Mississippi River from Iowa. Nielsen said he focuses on habitat research, and his goal is to bring research here through SIUC and train graduate students to study cougars and habitat potential in the Midwest.

There are various environmental agencies that are interested in cougar research and provide potential grant opportunities, Nielsen said. Mark Dowling, co-founder and director of the Cougar Network, said the network has been conducting research on cougar distribution in North America for nearly three years. "Three years ago, we decided to really focus on this and see what type of hard evidence is out there for cougars," Dowling said. "When we started networking and sharing information of sightings, we created this clearing house of information and started getting a lot of attention and cooperation from state and federal governments." Nielsen said he was impressed with the Cougar Network's philosophy of research.

"There are a lot of people doing this, and some aren't doing it in a way that I would judge to be the most scientific," Nielsen said. "My philosophy, as far as evaluating cougar evidence, is to only be concerned with hard evidence, such as a carcass, DNA or a picture." "As a scientist, I'm skeptical... I use hard evidence because this is my profession and I have to," Nielsen said. "It's not just a hobby that I can mess around with."

Cougar populations began increasing in Western states when the species was reclassified from a bountied predator that could be killed at any time to a managed game species, Dowling said. An increase in prey populations, primarily deer and elk, has also helped cougar numbers rebound, he said. Nielsen said there is currently no evidence of a breeding population in Mid-western states; it seems to be a few wandering animals showing up. If females started showing up, or if there was a greater influx of the animal, then there is the possibility for human-cougar conflicts, he said.

"Hunters would be worried about deer populations, livestock producers would be worried about sheep, cattle, goats and things like that," he said. "The human conflicts are happening a lot out West, where cougar populations are growing. "I believe, as a scientist, that this is a recolonization of dispersing animals from western populations," Nielsen said. "We are at the very forefront of this issue, and I can't tell you for sure what will happen in five years. "Given the animal, the mystery and the potential for depredation... we need to be thinking about it."