Monday, December 31, 2012
From elusive cougars to a happy ending for a lost dog, here are the animal stories that most captivated readers in 2012.
It's hard to resist a story about a cute pet, and we had several this year that were particularly popular. We also had less happy stories, such as one about a family accused of hoarding dogs, and an animal mystery — whether or not there really is a cougar roaming the North Shore. (No, not the human kind, the feline kind. But go ahead, make your jokes.) Here are our top animal stories from the North Shore Patch sites in 2012. Is there a cougar out there? By far the biggest animal story of the year has been the hunt for a possible cougar on the North Shore. With repeated possible sightings, there have still been no confirmed cougars in the area. Reports of a cougar peaked this summer, but there was one as recently as late November in …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
A Highland Park resident reported seeing what may have been a cougar on Sunday in Old Elm Park.
A Highland Park resident reported seeing what may have been a cougar on Sunday, Nov. 25 walking along the west tree line in Old Elm Park, according to a statment from the city. Earlier: North Shore Cougar Sightings 2012 The large, tan, feline-type animal was spotted in the park, which is located in the Highlands north of Half Day Road. The city is advising residents to be alert, especially when outside with children and small pets. Highland Park police immediately investigated the incident, which was reported on Wednesday, Nov. 28, but did not find any tracks or other evidence confirming the identification of the animal, according to the city. Similar cougar-like sightings have also been reported in the Glencoe and Winnetka in addition to…
Friday, October 5, 2012
A Kenilworth woman said she saw the animal cross the road while she was driving.
A cougar has once again been reported seen near the border of Winnetka and Northfield, less than a mile south from the location of a reported Sept. 3 sighting. Kenilworth resident Anne Hinkamp said she was driving westbound on Winnetka Avenue last Thursday at 10 a.m., when she saw a creature cross the blacktop in front of her car, just west of Hibbard Road. “I saw something run across the road in front of me, about a half block away, I guess,” Hinkamp said. “It was definitely big enough to catch my eye, and I wasn’t sure what it was at first. But I was getting closer, and it was still going across, and it was trotting, not running that fast. It had such a round head that it was definitely a cat-like creature. A round head and a long tail …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Highland Park residents are advised to be alert, especially when outside with small pets, after a large, feline-type animal was spotted last Friday on Lincoln Avenue.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Jacob Nelson
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Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The information below comes from the City of Highland Park. On Friday evening, September 14, a resident in the 1100 block of Lincoln Avenue South reported seeing a large, tan, feline-type animal similar in stature to a cougar in her backyard. Want Highland Park news in your inbox every morning? Subscribe to Patch's newsletter. Highland Park residents are advised to be alert, especially when outside with small pets. Highland Park Police Department personnel immediately investigated the incident but did not locate any tracks or other evidence confirming the identification of the animal. Read more: Cougar Sightings on the North Shore On September 17, Police Department personnel conducted a follow-up inspection of the area but did not confirm …
Friday, September 7, 2012
A timeline of possible cougar sightings that began in Glencoe and occurred as recently as Labor Day in Winnetka.
Possible North Shore cougar sightings began on the morning of April 15 on the bluff below the Hazel Ave. overlook in Glencoe. The next reported sighting occured on the evening of July 26 when a Glencoe Public Safety employee witnessed a large cat cross the street at Dell & Lakeside and walk down towards the lake. The employee described the cat as resembling a cougar. The news from Glencoe came as no surprise to Highland Park resident Alain Leval. Leval saw nothing but heard noises in Highland Park’s Sleepy Hollow Park that caused him to reverse tracks while walking his dog. “We heard a roar from the woods,” he said. “It was a sound you hear in the zoo. We walked back the other way.” Glencoe’s Animal Control Specialist Katie Sweeney said …
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Another village residents says they spotted a cougar in Winnetka, sparking an entirely new investigation.
Although police have yet to confirm a cougar is roaming the north shore, another Winnetka resident has informed police of a potential cougar sighting on Labor Day. “On September 3rd, 2012 at approximately 8:30 pm the Winnetka Police Department received a report of an animal sighting, possibly a cougar, seen along the 1300 block of Willow Road, adjacent to the Village Public Works Facility,” reports Winnetka Police in a statement. “Although unconfirmed, the detailed description provided of the animal has warranted additional investigation.” Residents and even public safety officials claimed to have spotted a cougar roaming the north shore before, prompting Glencoe’s Animal Control Specialist Katie Sweeney to install a “cougar cam” at Dell …
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Officials aren’t ruling out the possibility of a cougar roaming the north shore even though the camera drew a blank.
After multiple unconfirmed sightings of a potential cougar in the north shore, Glencoe Public Safety’s attempts at catching the cat on film remain unsuccessful. Glencoe’s Animal Control Specialist Katie Sweeney said police installed a “cougar cam” at Dell Beach, only to be taken down after two weeks because it only captured photos of wildlife native to the village. And while there was another possible sighting of the cat on Saturday, there was no evidence to prove an animal of that magnitude was ever at the scene. “We actually had a report of a sighting this past Saturday, but our officers responded, checked out the area and there were no footprints,” Sweeny said. “The sighting was reported to be a cougar-sized animal in a tree. What would…
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Sightings of an animal resembling a cougar started in April. Public Safety Officers are yet to find tracks or other hard evidence of the animal.
Reports Monday in Northbrook Patch of a large cat-type animal resembling a cougar was the latest in a series of comments by people along the North Shore including residents of Highland Park and Lake Forest. Northbrook alerted its residents recently that the Glencoe Public Safety Department has received reports of a large cat-type animal resembling a cougar near the Lake Michigan bluff/shoreline, according to a Village of Northbrook staff memo. The first sighting occurred on the morning of April 15 on the bluff below the Hazel Avenue overlook in Glencoe. The news from Glencoe came as no surprise to a pair of Highland Park residents, Alain Leval and Jim Kuchinsky. “It went to Glencoe,” Kuchinsky said of the animal. “A friend of mine said …
melanie Lewis
7:04 am on Monday, December 31, 2012
I know for a fact that an Illinoian would help a list or hurt animal. I was there. On Sheridan road, a German shepherd was limping along Sheridan road in Kenilworth. Police did stop, and I helped to get the dog back to its owner. A Wilmette man. I saw them later that day, the dog was bandaged on his left leg, and was accompanied by his owner. A very nice and caring man. :) more ›