GURNEE, Ill. (WGN) — A suburban Chicago family fears a cougar may be prowling around in their backyard.
Marilynn Sullivan took a video Friday morning at her home. It’s not the longest video, nor the clearest. but when it’s slowed down and zoomed in, the video shows a large cat.
“When I got up to shut off my security camera, there was a motion detector signal telling me one of the cameras caught something,” she said.
She admitted that she isn’t entirely sure what it is, but an expert told her she may be right about it being a cougar.
Bill Zeigler at the Brookfield Zoo said the animal is way too big to be a bobcat.
“This looks like a heavily furred, which make sense given a winter coat, puma or cougar,” he said.
This wouldn’t be the first time a large cat was sighted in the suburbs. A little more than two years ago, a cougar sighting in Glendale Heights caused a stir and warnings to the public.
In 2008, a cougar was killed when it made its way into Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood on the North Side.
Sullivan said there are scratches on her fence and blood on the fence. She hopes whatever it is that her caught sight on Friday morning can be found.
“I was immediately frightened for my dogs and any animals or children in my neighborhood,” Sullivan said.
But she also wants the cat not to meet the same fate as the one 12 years ago.
“I don’t want the animal killed,” Sullivan said. “I would love for it to be saved and be brought to a safe environment for the animal.”