Wild Bobcat Roaming Joliet's Neighborhoods?

JOLIET, IL — Sixteen months after Patch published an article about two bobcat sightings announced by the Will County Forest Preserve District, Joliet City Councilman Cesar Guerrero told his colleagues that a bobcat may be roaming around Joliet's east-side neighborhoods.

"I never expected to have to speak on this," remarked Joliet's 26-year-old at-large City Councilman during Tuesday night's Joliet City Council meeting.

"But it was brought to my attention that there have been reports of allegedly a bobcat sighting in the area between northern Joliet, the Fairmont area and Lockport," Guerrero said. "The original Facebook post, as incredible as it may seem, the post has been shared over 700 times.

"Things like this tend to travel quickly. I have my serious doubts that there is a bobcat lurking the streets of Joliet, but in any case, I did contact the Department of Natural Resources. Waiting for a response back from them on how best to handle the situation."

Guerrero then added, "I would just ask that you not share (Facebook) posts like this. Take a minute to look into it, trace back the image in the post. I traced back the image in the post ... first used in a Patch article in Connecticut in 2011, so I've got some serious doubts about it, but I just wanted people to know that, yes, it was brought to my attention. We are aware of it, and we'll see how we can move forward."

In April 2021, Patch published an article headlined "Will County Sees Second Bobcat Spotting In Past 6 Months."

The 2021 photos were taken at the Forest Preserve District of Will County's Sand Ridge Savanna Nature Preserve near Wilmington. Game cameras aren't there specifically to track bobcats, but it is a rare surprise since the creatures are so elusive, according to the forest preserve's wildlife biologist Becky Blankenship.

In addition to Sand Ridge Savanna and Kankakee Sands, bobcats have also been spotted at Braidwood Dunes and Savanna Nature Preserve in Reed Township, Evans-Judge Preserve in Custer Township and Sugar Creek Preserve in Joliet.