SALEM, Ohio — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed a rare and historic sighting: an adult cougar traveling with two kittens in the Upper Peninsula, marking the first verified case of cougar reproduction in Michigan in more than 100 years and possibly the first east of the Mississippi River.
A trail camera photo taken Dec. 6 in central Ontonagon County shows an adult cougar walking down a snowy trail followed closely by two juvenile cats. The photo has reassured wildlife experts after months of uncertainty surrounding the kittens’ fate, which were last seen in early March when they were estimated to be only about two months old. At the time, their mother was not seen, raising concerns among biologists about whether the young cougars would survive on their own.
Brian Roell, the DNR’s large carnivore specialist, said in a press release that the new photo suggests the kittens not only survived their first year but remained with their mother, which is a critical factor in their chances of long-term survival.
“The kittens’ chances of survival are actually pretty high because just like bears, cougars invest a lot of their energy into their young,” Roell said. “So these kittens will stay with their mom through this winter and possibly even into next winter. They already have a leg up, seeing as how they’ve been with her for a year now.”
The newly verified photo was submitted by a private landowner and reviewed by the DNR’s cougar team, which enhanced the nighttime image to confirm that three separate animals were present. The sex of the kittens remains unknown.
“This isn’t an animal that is ever going to become very numerous,” Roell said. “They’re going to remain rare on the landscape regardless of whatever happens with them here in Michigan.”
According to DNR, in recent years, numerous cougar sighting reports have been received from various locations in Michigan, with many confirmed cougar sightings since 2008. According to research in the journal PLOS One, transient young male cougars are expanding their range, dispersing far across the United States from their core western populations and may re-establish cougars in the Upper Great Lakes (UGL) region, posing important ecological, social and political impacts that will require effective management.
According to the press release, cougar sightings have increased each year since 2019. Visit the DNR’s cougar dashboard and cougar photo page for more information.
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 on public or private property.
“Too much human pressure can also trigger the female cougar to abandon her cubs,” Roell said in the press release. “As with all wild animals, we’re asking the public to respect their habitat and allow them to live naturally in their home.”
