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First cougar cubs verified in Michigan in more than a century

The Michigan DNR announced on Thursday that 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 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, said Brian Roell, large carnivore specialist for the Michigan DNR. Roell, a wildlife biologist for 26 years, 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 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.”

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The DNR said the cubs have not been spotted since March 6.

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.

Cougars are native to Michigan, but the DNR said 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 DNR said 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.”

Wildlife 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. It’s illegal to hunt or harass them, which includes trying to locate their den. It’s also illegal to trespass on private property, Roell noted.

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

8 thoughts on “First cougar cubs verified in Michigan in more than a century”

butchbaldwin
March 17, 2025 at 9:03 am

Cougars are like democrats….who needs them?

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1. markoforion
  March 17, 2025 at 9:20 am
  
  …says someone who clearly has no idea the role that mountain lions play. Be better.
  
  Reply
Paul Thomann
March 17, 2025 at 9:41 am

Keep the cougars, let the Dems go extinct like they are!

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DeRoche Gary
March 17, 2025 at 9:41 am

I saw a Cougar run across I-75 about 40 years ago… I saw it, my father saw, and so did my brother-in-law… you can’t miss that tail…it was about 30 miles South of the bridge…

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1. Bruce R Greuel
  March 17, 2025 at 11:40 am
  
  Looking at that picture it makes one wonder it the photographer didn’t run the animal over after taking the picture.
  
  Reply
Michael
March 17, 2025 at 12:14 pm

Cue the – cougars are ruining the deer hunting crowd.

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1. No2cougars
  March 18, 2025 at 8:33 am
  
  No no, there isn’t much of a herd left thanks to the wolves… Talk to anyone from our west and they’ll tell you lions are nothing to be afraid of. You’ll be dead before you know what jumped on you.
  
  Reply
Bruce Frame
March 19, 2025 at 3:06 pm

These look like staged photographs to me. If they are real the mother would be nearby and probably would have attacked the photographer for being too close to her cubs. Just like a mother bear protects her cubs. I would believe trail camera pictures over these. Just saying.

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