Like most young outdoorsmen, he seems to be seeking the simple things in life: a quiet, out-of-the-way place to call home, great deer-hunting grounds, and a soul mate with whom to start a family. No wonder he's looking in the agricultural Midwest, what with its remaining forests and abundant venison. But he's not your average kind of guy--he's a cougar.

"There have been 21 confirmed cougars in nine Midwestern states and one Canadian province in the past 18 months. In the 10 years before that, we had one or two a year," says Clayton Nielsen, a wildlife ecologist with SIUC's Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and director of scientific research for the Cougar Network. This nonprofit research group tracks "hard evidence" of cougar movements and networks with federal, state, and other wildlife agencies.

"The phenomenon of cougars showing up in the Midwest is a relatively new one. It's the acceleration that's got people really interested right now," Nielsen says.

In some cases, the cougars being found in the Midwest may be released pets, Nielsen says. But migration seems to be responsible for some incidences. Nielsen and the Cougar Network are tracking scientifically confirmed cougar appearances on a "big-picture map" that's yielding a comprehensive view of the cats' movements outside their contemporary ranges.

Mere sightings don't count. Carcasses, cougar DNA, and verifiable photos provide the most credible evidence to date of cougars' eastward migration, Nielsen says.

"From a research perspective, we want to know where the movement corridors are, how the cougars are getting here--and if they do [get here in greater numbers], we'd like to know if there's enough habitat for them to survive and to eventually re-colonize," he says.

One thing's for sure: These cats will brave the water. Those showing up in the Midwest must first swim the Mississippi River.

Cougars, also known as mountain lions, panthers, or pumas, were extirpated from the eastern half of the United States--with the exception of Florida--about 150 years ago. Today, our continent's biggest cats usually occupy secluded tracts of land out West.

But rising cougar populations and habitat loss there appear to be major factors in the felines' recent forays east, says Nielsen.

A couple of cougars have turned up dead in Southern Illinois since summer 2000. One of those "was a relatively young male, four to six years old, who'd recently eaten a fawn and appeared to be a wild animal," says Nielsen, who was present at the cat's necropsy, conducted at the Wildlife Lab.

However, he says, "There are no breeding populations of cougars in the Midwest. So the cougars coming here aren't going to find one of the things they're most interested in, and that's mates."

In their travels, they continue seeking suitable partners until they're either killed by hunters, hit by cars or trains, or perhaps decide to turn around and head back home. So it remains uncertain whether cougars can reestablish themselves outside the West.

"There's no fear we're going to be overrun anytime soon," Nielsen says, "but I do think this is a naturally occurring phenomenon. As scientists, we'd like to help people plan for their possible arrival and to figure out whether or not we can co-exist."

Nielsen, a veteran at tracking wild cats, also has studied the bobcat's comeback in Illinois.

--by Paula Davenport, Media & Communication Resources

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