Cougar Sighting in East U.P.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has confirmed two recent photos of a cougar in the eastern Upper Peninsula. It marks the 25th and 26th time that cougar evidence has been verified in the U.P. One of the photos was taken with a camera phone in late October on private property near Chippewa County’s Raber Township. The other was taken in early November by a trail camera on public land in Mackinac County near Garfield Township. DNR officials say the animals are believed to be young ones from established cougar populations in the Dakotas. Biologists say that there is no evidence of a breeding population of cougars in Michigan. The DNR has now confirmed the presence of cougars in 11 Upper Peninsula counties 26 times since 2008.