![\"File](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/FCRQ4B7HDZFGPBNM2KQL5CWF3A.jpg\"\/)
An anonymous Yooper shared this photograph from March 6, 2025, with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, where scientists confirmed it is a cougar cub.Michigan Department of Natural Resources<\/p>\n
That adds up to 21 confirmed animals this year, which is still fewer than last year\u2019s record number.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlbeit, we still have November and December to go. So, we\u2019re close,\u201d said Brian Roell, DNR large carnivore specialist.<\/p>\n
That puts Michigan in the running for three consecutive years for record numbers of official cougar sightings, but only if three more are confirmed before Jan. 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Officials said that doesn\u2019t make it a major population, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not talking large numbers; we\u2019re still talking individual cats. At this point, it\u2019s just a novelty, and it\u2019s neat that we have a large carnivore on the landscape,\u201d said Roell, a wildlife biologist.<\/p>\n
![\"Confirmed](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SGXLWRP3C5EN5NBKYABEW3B7KI.jpg\"\/)
This cougar was spotted Oct. 9, 2023, in Marquette County using trail camera equipment owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.Michigan DNR<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, confirmed cougar sightings have trended upward the last six years, according to DNR data<\/a>.<\/p>\n The first double-digit year was in 2019 when 11 of the animals were spotted. In the last five years, DNR officials have at least six times confirmed different cougar sightings in two places on the same day.<\/p>\n Cougars are considered critically imperiled in Michigan and are ranked as an endangered species under state law. The DNR provides photos of confirmed sightings<\/a>, something that has become more frequent in recent years.<\/p>\n Related: Wolves in Michigan\u2019s U.P. are getting their closeups<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cTrail camera popularity has certainly grown in the last 10 years, and that\u2019s a nationwide phenomenon. The price point of those things has come down significantly,\u201d Roell said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know people that are running 30-plus cameras year-round. It\u2019s a hobby now to see what you can catch on a camera.\u201d<\/p>\n Roell said that regardless of how many cameras are in the woods, that doesn\u2019t entirely explain the growing number of cougar sightings, even if some instances are the same animal spotted by different people.<\/p>\n There\u2019s likely also been \u201can uptick\u201d in the number of the big cats in Michigan, Roell said.<\/p>\n Are they breeding?<\/p>\n Wildlife officials have for years thought cougars spotted in the U.P. were young males that had migrated into the region from expanding western populations in the Dakotas.<\/p>\n However, the set of cougar kittens found earlier this year indicated that an adult female must be in the area. Researchers believe those cubs were proof of the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western Great Lakes states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n Still, biologists could only assume the cubs were born in Michigan but not necessarily bred here.<\/p>\n Related: Cougar cubs found in Michigan for first time in more than a century<\/a><\/p>\n Now, trail camera data may be supporting the notion that a female cougar has made the western U.P. her official stomping grounds. There are significant \u201chot spots of cougar activity,\u201d Roell said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know if we have a resident cat there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s suggesting that we do because we keep getting repeat sightings in the same area in the last few years, saying that maybe a cat has set up shop.\u201d<\/p>\n That news won\u2019t surprise every Yooper. In fact, there are plenty of U.P. residents who believe there\u2019s been a breeding population there for years.<\/p>\n \u201cHands down they\u2019re breeding here,\u201d said Jeremy Applekamp, an avid outdoorsman who lives near Marquette and serves on a state citizen advisory committee for the Lake Superior fishery.<\/p>\n Applekamp said he runs a social media page about wild predators in the U.P., so locals often send him photos of cougars, which are sometimes called mountain lions or pumas. He thinks there are plenty of the big cats around.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a breeding population here that the DNR does not want to admit or manage. They have no funds to do so,\u201d Applekamp said.<\/p>\n He hears stories about Yoopers spotting cougars, observing tracks, and even hearing chirping noises thought to be female cougars vocalizing. \u201cLocals know more about where these animals are at,\u201d Applekamp said.<\/p>\n Another Yooper outdoorsman, Eli Schaefer of Houghton, is responsible for the state\u2019s 18th and last confirmed cougar sighting in 2023. He captured thrilling trail camera video of a cougar attacking a small deer<\/a> on the Keweenaw Peninsula.<\/p>\n This week, Schaefer said he believes there simply must be more cougars in the Michigan wilderness than the number DNR officials are able to confirm.<\/p>\n \u201cThe timing of everybody\u2019s photos and the amount of photos wouldn\u2019t make sense if they were right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Cougars are large tan cats that average between 6.5 and 7.5 feet long with a long tail, about one-third of their body length. The species prefers forested or partly forested landscapes near streams or rivers and requires a healthy prey base of primarily white-tailed deer but will also consume smaller mammals.<\/p>\n Related: 200 miles apart, U.P. farms model divide in Michigan wolf hunt debate<\/a><\/p>\n Anyone in Michigan who spots physical evidence of a cougar, such as scat, tracks or a carcass, is encouraged not to disturb the area and include photographs with a report made online<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wildlife experts said anyone who encounters a cougar in the wild should:<\/p>\n Face the animal and do not act submissive. Stand tall, wave your arms, and talk in a loud voice.Never run from a cougar or other large carnivore. If children are present, pick them up so they cannot run.If attacked, fight back with whatever is available. Do not play dead.Report the encounter to local authorities and the DNR as soon as possible.Root rot threatens Michigan\u2019s Christmas tree farms, new study to begin<\/a>Oct. 18, 2025, 12:30p.m.Northern Michigan workshop reveals secrets of the \u2018thunder chicken\u2019<\/a>Oct. 17, 2025, 7:30a.m.A massive wilderness project in the U.P. is changing how Michigan\u2019s public forests are managed<\/a>Oct. 16, 2025, 9:45a.m.Lake Michigan island takes step toward faster internet with fiber installation<\/a>Oct. 15, 2025, 9:45a.m.More changing colors coming for fall hikes at Michigan outdoor sculpture park<\/a>Oct. 14, 2025, 9:30a.m.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARQUETTE, MI \u2013 There\u2019s no doubt about the growing evidence that cougars roam the wildest reaches of Michigan\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-241280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Cougar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/QG62MSKH3ZHFPLGUVZTSROQRCY.jpg\"\/)
This cougar was photographed on March 15, 2024, in Houghton County with trail camera equipment owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.Michigan DNR<\/p>\n