Illinois Reports Just 11 Mountain Lion Sightings in 23 Years

While I'm certainly not a math genius, I demand a recount. Did you know the state of Illinois claims there have been only 11 mountain lion sightings in the past 23 years? I predict many will take issue with that estimate.

How do we know exactly how many mountain lion sightings have happened in Illinois?

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has a page dedicated to these big cats. I want to make sure I'm being accurate with their mountain lion estimate, so here are the exact words of Illinois state officials:

"There have been eleven confirmed mountain lions in Illinois between 2002 and 2025."

That's pretty recent data from the IDPR. While their site does mention many specific mountain lion sightings, they don't have a detailed list like the Missouri Department of Conservation has. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources mentions that mountain lion that was killed by a train in Randolph County in 2002. They also document the big cat killed by a bow hunter in 2004 in Mercer County. There was even a mountain lion killed in a Chicago neighborhood in 2008.

Illinois claims mountain lions do not have natural habitats in the Land of Lincoln

Department of Natural Resources says "mountain lions were eliminated from Illinois before 1870 due to habitat loss and hunting pressure". The big cats spotted on numerous trail cams are mountain lions merely traveling across Illinois according to state officials. I don't doubt that many of these big cats are solo travelers, but it seems to me that the confirmed sightings count is extremely low compared to what many of us think is reality.