This is a story so unbelievable that if I didn't have a link, no one would believe it. If you saw this as a promo for any television cop drama, you'd immediately decide that show jumped the shark. Yesterday, in a Chicago neighborhood filled with families (not too far from Wrigley Field), there was a cougar on the prowl. No, that's not a typo.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/894573,CST-NWS-cougar15.article
There had been reports of cougar sightings in a couple of suburbs recently, but no actual confirmation until yesterday. We have a lot of wildlife around, yet a cougar is something no one had ever seen in the city before. I have to say...it does make me think twice about hiking in the forest preserves by our house.
What amazes me today is how many people think the police acted in haste. The Chicago newspaper message boards are filled with people saying that the cougar should have been tranquilized and taken to a shelter. Of course, these people were not on the scene so they have no idea what it was really like to be in a very crowded Chicago neighborhood with dozens of children playing, people walking pets, cars driving, and a 150 lb. cougar capable of jumping over a 6-foot fence prowling. They didn't see the cougar, which by all accounts was a bit edgy and threatening. After all, it is a wild animal.
For those that say it should have been tranquilized, I offer an option. Next time there is a cougar on the prowl, you can put your family at risk. You can stand with the police and explain why you don't think it's a threat to anyone. Me, I'm asking the police to take it out every time. Keeping our children safe is always more important than a cougar.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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3 comments:
Couldn't agree with you more! Those same bleeding hearts would be singing a different tune if the cougar had gotten out of that backyard and killed a child (or anyone) had the police not shot it when they had a clear view. The police are sworn to protect US (not the animal)... they did their job well and I am thankful for them doing so.
I second the motion. I saw an animal shelter spokesperson being interviewed today.
"What people don't uderstand," she said, "is that if a tranquilizer had been used, the cougar would have run quite a ways before the tranquilizer had taken effect in that cougar's body. By then the police would have lost site of the cougar." Kudos to the Chicago policemen.
I live in Chicago and that story has been all over the place! I agree that keeping kids safe is more important than keeping a cougar safe... It would have been a tragedy if that cougar had hurt someone, especially a little kid!
One of the problems people in the neighborhood had was also that the Chicago cops are apparently not very good at shooting. They fired at least 18 shots before hitting the cougar... and shots were just everywhere! People were worried that someone could have gotten hit in the crossfire easily with all those bullets flying around not hitting their target! Crazy stuff.
I wonder where that cougar came from, anyway?
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