(Photo courtesy Valerie Abbott) Illinois has three confirmed cougar kills in recent years: 15th July 2000: Male cougar killed by a train in Randolph County. Big Cat Comeback? 4th December 2004: Male cougar found by a bow hunter in New Boston (Mercer County). Mercer County Cougar The Mercer County Cougar 14th March 2008: Male cougar shot and killed in [...]
With the opening of the new movie Red Riding Hood (2011), it got me to thinking whether there is any connection between the Big Bad Wolf and the old “hairy wildman” myths of Europe. Now I am not a folklorist nor am I knowledgeable about old European myths. I honestly only feel comfortable speaking about [...]
There are two sounds that I hear people talk about repeatedly, proclaiming them to be the vocalizations of cougar or mountain lion. The first sound is what people describe as a woman screaming as if she were being killed. And the second sound is that of a baby crying, or the “cry baby” sound. So [...]
The following Notable Quotes are all pertaining to the state of Illinois. _______________________________________________ Chris McCloud – Spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources “The IDNR deals with animals native to Illinois, and Bigfoot is not one of them, he said.” _______________________________________________ Dr. Christopher Bader, Assistant Sociology Professor, Baylor University in Texas “For whatever reason, there’s [...]
I was raised on the West Coast and had only been “east” once before meeting my wife. In 1972 we flew east to meet my future in-laws who lived in the tiny village of Piasa, Illinois. A couple of days later they took me to see the famous painting along the Great River Road near [...]
My brother Dale believes that he had a visit by a sasquatch while camping in July of 2004 in the Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana. Here is a write-up that my brother did to document his experience in 2004: My wife and I decided to camp closer to home to save on fuel [...]
Pieces of evidence sometimes are found at the most unexpected times. Such was the case a year ago when we found “Footprints in Stone“ embedded in concrete in Springfield, Illinois. Chicagoland has never paid much attention to their little sister to the South and it appears they will not be outdone once again. In November after exploring [...]
On the 8th of December 2010 I was getting ready to do some sound recording about an hour south of my home. It was 11 p.m. As I approached my car I heard this really strange sound coming from due north of my house towards a large hillside. At first I thought it was going [...]
The first part of March 2010 I recorded the following sound. At first I thought it might be a Red Fox, but after listening to it further I don’t think that is the case. It would have been better if the Screamer had been closer to the mic. The recorder and microphone were on my [...]
Stan – I received the following letter from a friend in Springfield, Springfield. Consequently I spoke with the author by phone. The first names of the individuals have been edited so as protect everyone’s privacy. The Sangamon River Bottom Monster Preface: This information is based on witnessed facts, and is as close to the events [...]