“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.
For the first time in >100 years, #cougar cubs have been discovered living in the #Michigan #wild.
State biologists on Wednesday confirmed the existence of 2 #CougarCubs on private land in Ontonagon County in the western #UP. The spotted cubs, believed to be 7–9 weeks old, were verified from photographic evidence of the cubs taken March 6 by a local resident.
#wildlife #conservation
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/about/newsroom/releases/2025/03/13/first-cougar-cubs-verified-in-michigan-in-more-than-a-century
