Sorry...I didn't save any articles of their denials, just going from memory a few years back on that SD cat that was later killed in CT (that's a lot of miles). Wasn't anything sinister in the denial, they just thought it was implausible. We've had a few other ones since then but they were caught on cameras.
The bobs are expanding their range a lot. They were once restricted to the north woods but "harvest" was always based on very conservative estimates and the excess got "kicked out" of their home range. In Wis we had the same thing with bears (you can probably expect to see them soon if you haven't seen them yet...at one time restricted to the forest the conservative harvest limits forced them south...then they got into "corn country"...whereas twins were common, now we see triplets, quads and often quints...plenty of food for mom). I'll add that you might soon be looking at wolves. Forget about coyotes...that war was lost a long time ago. As for the cougars, they all seem to be merely "passing through". Those things seem to put on a lot of miles.
No bears? Look at a map of Wisconsin and find Verona (south west of Madison)! They are heading south. They are very territorial animals and once kicked out by Mom (2 years) are forced to find new ground. Bobs apparently are the same...Wis hunting has recently added a few southern zones for those critters after years of debate over the need. We hit a record high wolf population while the whole thing keeps getting dragged back into court. I'm sure I've seen wolf scat in an area not far from the Ill border.
Happens...Mom keeps them for 2 years then kicks them out so she can breed again...guessing they will leave the den at 150 lbs or so. During that time Dad will try to kill the cubs because he is always ready to breed (not unlike some guys I know). Mom will do whatever she can to protect them. You might want to call the DNR and ask what you should do...most likely they'll tell you that you have to let nature take its course.
