A 'very big cat' is on the loose in North Chicago, authorities say

Susan Kuczka | Tribune staff reporter
6:39 PM CDT, March 29, 2008

Police in North Chicago are on the lookout for what Mayor Leon Rockingham described Saturday as a "very big cat" that authorities believe could be a wild cougar.

Authorities on Friday made a plaster cast of what appeared to be a large paw print, adding credence to a spate of reports that a wildcat was on the prowl.

"Being a cat, it could be on the ground or up in a tree, or anywhere," the mayor said.

City officials tried to get the word out to residents that they should be careful when visiting forested areas, where the cat might be on the prowl for food.

"My main concern is safety, especially with this being spring break and having a lot of kids outdoors," Rockingham said.

The first sighting of the more than 2-foot-tall cat was reported Thursday by a resident who said she spotted it near 15th Street and Lewis Avenue.

"We know it's large just by the footprint it made," Rockingham said.

Officials with the Lake County Forest Preserve District discovered the paw prints Friday while searching several wooded areas near town, he said. Later in the day, a police officer reported seeing the feline near a youth center.

"We need to make sure people are keeping an eye out for it," Rockingham said. "We don't want anyone to get hurt."