ONTONAGON COUNTY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – For the first time in more than a century, cougar cubs have been discovered living in the Michigan wild.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirmed the existence of two cougar cubs on private land in Ontonagon County in the western Upper Peninsula. The spotted cubs are believed to be 7 to 9 weeks old. Officials verified their existence in a photo taken March 6 by a local resident.
Brian Roell, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist, cited this as the first time cougar cubs have been verified since the big cats were hunted out of existence in Michigan in the early 1900s. DNR officials also said cougar are native to Michigan but can move from state to state as well.
“It’s pretty exciting, considering this could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western Great Lakes states,” said Roell, referring to Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. “It really shows that we have a unique place in Michigan where someone has a chance to see a wolf, a moose and a cougar in the wild. It’s something that should be celebrated, that we have the habitat to support an elusive animal like this.”
The cubs were spotted and photographed without their mother. For the latest information on cougars, including the DNR’s cougar sightings photo page, click here.
