MICHIGAN. (WPBN) – Last year was a historic year for cougar sightings in Michigan, and the Department of Natural Resources is investigating potential causes.
Brian Roell, a wildlife biologist with the DNR, explained to WPBN on Wednesday that Michigan was once a natural habitat for cougars, with the last known cougar killed in the eastern U.P. in the early 1990s.
“Michigan was cougar habitat, including both peninsulas. The last known cougar to exist in Michigan was like 1906 or 1905. There was an animal killed in the eastern Upper Peninsula [that] was actually captured in a wolf trap,” said Roell.
Cougars were confirmed back in the state in the late 2000s. Since then, the DNR has been monitoring them closely.
“2008 is when we first identified cougars back in the state. Doesn’t mean that the animals weren’t coming prior to that. We probably did have some transient animals, but that confirmation didn’t occur until 2008,” said Roell.
Roell noted that the DNR is still utilizing between 1,200 and 1,300 cameras to estimate wildlife populations, including cougars. Roell says many cameras intended to capture other wildlife populations, but picked up cougars as well.
The increase in sightings is partly attributed to an increase in trail cams used by Michigan residents.
“Used to be kind of a luxury to have one, now there’s many people that have multiple cameras,” Roell said. “We had 31 different sightings. They represented like 34 or 35 cats because we had the kittens.”
That is 11 more sightings than there were in 2024.
“Certainly, I believe there [are] more cougars making it to our state. What we don’t know now is are they staying here? It does appear we have some patterns in certain areas of the Upper Peninsula,” Roell said.
A significant milestone was reached in 2025 when the DNR documented a cougar reproduction for the first time in many years.
“That’s a historic event because it’s the first time within or well over a hundred years that reproduction has been documented east of the Mississippi,” Roell said.
With the increase in sightings, Roell wants people to know that cougars are not as dangerous as some may think.
“Lightning strikes are far more dangerous. Just getting in your car and driving to work in the morning is far more dangerous in Michigan than the chance of getting attacked by a cougar. So I asked people, all wildlife has the potential to be dangerous. It doesn’t have to have big claws and teeth. It could be the smallest animal. So just treat all wildlife with respect and give them their distance,” Roell said.
The DNR encourages anyone who sees a cougar to report it through their web-based program. There, photos can be submitted and reviewed by the DNR’s cougar team.
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