(WXYZ) — For the first time in more than 100 years, cougar cubs have been verified in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
State biologists confirmed Wednesday the existence of 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 and were verified from photos taken on March 6 by a local resident.
Brian Roell, a large carnivore specialist for the DNR, led the team that verified the cubs. It's the first time cougar cubs have been verified since the big cats were hunted out of existence in the early 1900s.
“It’s pretty exciting, considering this could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western Great Lakes states,” Roell said in a statement. “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 Western Great Lakes states he's talking about are Michigan, Wisconsin and Minneosta.
The cubs were spotted and photographed without their mother, and cubs are highly dependent on the mother and often stay with them for the first two years of life.
Cougars are native to Michigan, according to the DNR, but most appear to be transient animals and come into Michigan from western states.
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.”
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.
While the DNR has verified 132 cougar reports, DNA testing has only confirmed male cougars to date.
This year alone, there have been seven confirmed cougar sightings via photograph and video, including the two cubs. In 2024, there were 15 confirmed sightings.
