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Yesterday — 13 March 2025Main stream

First cougar cubs verified in Michigan in more than a century

✇The Oakland Press
By: Michigan DNR
13 March 2025 at 21:13

For the first time in more than 100 years, cougar cubs have been discovered living in the Michigan wild.

State biologists on Wednesday confirmed the existence of two cougar cubs on private land in Ontonagon County in the western Upper Peninsula. The spotted cubs, believed to be 7 to 9 weeks old, were verified from photographic evidence of the cubs taken March 6 by a local resident.

Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)
Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)

This is the first time cougar cubs have been verified since the big cats were hunted out of existence in Michigan in the early 1900s, said Brian Roell, large carnivore specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Roell, a wildlife biologist for 26 years, led the team that verified the cubs.

Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)
Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)

“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. Cougar cubs are highly dependent on their mothers, often staying with them for the first two years of life.

Although cougars are native to Michigan, most of them now appear to be transient animals, dispersing into Michigan from Western states. The DNR has verified 132 adult cougar reports, Roell said, but DNA testing has confirmed only male cougars to date.

The cubs have not been spotted since March 6. “Those young cougars are very vulnerable right now,” Roell said. “We don’t know where they are or if they’re even alive. Mother Nature can be very cruel.”

Sightings can be logged in the DNR’s Eyes in the Field reporting system. Roell said cougars are on the list of endangered mammals in Michigan, meaning it’s illegal to hunt or harass them, which includes trying to locate their den. It’s also illegal to trespass on private property, he noted.

For the latest information on cougars, including the DNR’s cougar sightings photo page, visit Michigan.gov/Cougar.

Here is a look at the baby cougar seen by an Upper Peninsula resident, who requested anonymity. (Submitted by the Michigan Department of Resources.)
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