By Katie Thoresen, WXPR
This story was originally published by WXPR. WXPR is a community-licensed public radio station serving north central Wisconsin and adjacent areas of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Listen to their stories here.
Cougar cubs have been found in Michigan. It’s the first time the existence of cubs have been verified by the DNR in more than 100 years.
State biologists with the Michigan DNR confirmed that there are 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.
They were verified from photos of the cubs taken March 6 by a local resident.
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.
Brian Roell is a large carnivore specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Roell, a wildlife biologist for 26 years, led the team that verified the cubs.
Photo courtesy of the Michigan DNR via WXPR
“It’s pretty exciting, considering this could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western Great Lakes states,” said Roell in a statement, 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.
Featured image: A cougar cub found in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. (Photo courtesy of the Michigan DNR via WXPR)
