TRI LAKES, COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (Aug. 22, 2010) – Another cougar sighting – this time in our own backyard in Whitley County!
Linda Zimmerman and her husband Max, along with two relatives sighted an adult cougar taking a drink at the water’s edge of Big Cedar Lake in the East Basin at approximately 5 p.m. yesterday (Aug. 21, 2010).
Big Cedar Lake is one of the lakes that comprise Tri Lakes in Whitley County, a short drive from Churubusco and Blue Lake.
Zimmerman notified buscovoice.com early this morning at 12:27 a.m. (Apparently, she had a little trouble sleeping?)
This is what Zimmerman reported:
“My husband, Max, and two first cousins sighted an adult cougar on the north shore of Big Cedar Lake in the East Basin approximately 5 P.M. today (Aug. 21, 2010). We have alerted the Whitley County Sheriff Department, as well as neighbors adjoining the area of the sighting,” Zimmerman said.
“This sighting was a very clear, close range sighting of the cougar as it drank from the water’s edge and immediately bolted into brush and disappeared as we were approaching with our pontoon dead on,” Zimmerman continued.
“One neighbor had heard ’something wild’ last night outside (his/her home) but didn’t know what it was. Cougars don’t often attack humans, but they can and sometimes do. Pets, I imagine, would be considered fair game for this adult cougar! I can honestly say, we were all surprised at the sighting but all know exactly what we saw … no imagination here.”
If you sight what you believe to be a wild cat in or around your neighborhood, call the local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or local law enforcement officials.

(Click on map to enlarge)
There is a Web sight devoted to wild cat sightings in the Midwest called Cougar News.
Following are some of the articles listed on the sight.
By SETH SLABAUGH of the Muncie Star
MUNCIE — The camera doesn’t lie. And that’s why state officials are now taking more seriously people such as Delaware County farmer Lon Wright when they cry “cougar.
At 2:30 a.m. on May 1, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources captured multiple images of a cougar, also known as a mountain lion, in rural Greene County east of Bloomfield and southwest of Bloomington.
Cameras were placed in the area after investigators found evidence consistent with mountain lion behavior, including a deer minus its intestines buried under a pile of leaves.
On March 1, DNR implemented a new policy to collect data and evaluate reported sightings of mountain lions, prompted by increased reports of the animals migrating east, specifically out of South Dakota.
Since then, 19 mountain lion sightings have been reported, including the one in Greene County — seven counties away from Delaware County. Of the remaining 18, two reports were confirmed by biologists as animals other than a mountain lion. Sixteen were classified as “unconfirmed,” either because of no physical evidence or because photographs provided were of insufficient quality to identify characteristics of any animal type.
Wright swears he saw a mountain lion in a hay field near his dairy farm in southern Delaware County in the summer of 2008. A feed company truck driver reported seeing a cougar walking down the driveway within 60 feet of Wright’s house. Wright’s wife also has seen it, close enough that she was prepared to squirt it with a garden hose if it had approached her.
For the rest of this story click here …
Category Archive for ‘Confirmed Sightings’
Posted in Confirmed Sightings, Government Agency, Monitoring, Wisconsin on Jul 7th, 2010
Rare animal sightings tend to jump start the imagination.
The cougar hiding in your neighbor’s woods. The wolverine scurrying under a deck. A timber wolf hunting cattle.
The Department of Natural Resources — the recipient of these reports — takes a case-by-case approach when deciding whether to investigate … (Click on headline for complete story)
Posted in Confirmed Sightings, Government Agency, Michigan, Monitoring, Remote Camera on Jun 21st, 2010
Menominee County is in the southwestern corner of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and shares a border with Wisconsin
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment today announced it has reviewed a Menominee County trail camera picture [...]
Conservation officials suggest healthy deer population attracting the predator
“Generally speaking, respect the animal, but do not fear it. Cougar attacks (on people) are very [...]
Posted in Confirmed Sightings, Control, Monitoring, Ohio on May 31st, 2010
Most eastern states and Canadian provinces now ban private ownership of cougars or require the “owner” of the exotic animal to obtain a license or permit or to register the animal with state or local authorities to privately possess the animal. As of 2009, only two states (Wisconsin & West Virginia) and one eastern Canadian [...]
Posted in Confirmed Sightings, Remote Camera, Wisconsin on May 31st, 2010
Lena is in eastern Wisconsin north of Green Bay. Based on the location of the urinary opening, we know the cougar is a male.
Posted in Confirmed Sightings, Control, Monitoring, Ohio on May 28th, 2010
Georgetown is in SW Ohio near the Kentucky border.
http://www.maysville-online.com/news/local/article_eaaa2e50-6a00-11df-bef9-001cc4c03286.html
GEORGETOWN, Ohio — The Brown County Sheriff’s Office has received two reports in two days of a mountain lion sighting near Georgetown, Ohio.
Police believe the animal may have escaped from a resident on Western Run Avenue in Mount [...]