Sightings can be logged in the DNR’s Eyes in the Field reporting system.

https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/ors/Home?utm_campaign=first+cougar+cubs+100+years&utm_medium=pr&utm_source=govdelivery

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 info on cougars, including the DNR’s cougar sightings photo page [https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/education/michigan-species/mammals/cougars/photos], visit Michigan.gov/Cougar.

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

The #CougarCubs 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.”

“It really shows that we have a unique place in #Michigan where someone has a chance to see a #wolf, a #moose & a #cougar in the #wild. It’s something that should be celebrated, that we have the #habitat to support an elusive animal like this,”Roell said.

The cubs were spotted & photographed without their mother. #CougarCubs are highly dependent on their mothers, often staying with them for the first two years of life.

This is the first time #CougarCubs 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 MDNR. Roell, a #wildlife biologist for 26yrs, led the team that verified the cubs.

“It’s pretty exciting, considering this could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western #GreatLakes states,”said Roell, referring to Michigan, Wisconsin & Minnesota.