Cougars In Upper Peninsula

#1

Dumpers in the UP need to keep an eye out for cougars. (the four-legged variety, NOT the two-legged kind!)

Officials verify cougar sighting in eastern U.P.
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News

Chippewa County -- Most of the time, reports of cougar sightings that filter in to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources turn out to be hoaxes. This week, however, state officials have confirmed the presence of one of these large cats in the eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula -- a first for that region.

Wildlife biologists have previously confirmed only three other cougars in Michigan but did not have photographic evidence of a fourth. A trail camera on private property in Chippewa County caught a cougar on the move during the night last month.

"We don't have scientific evidence in Michigan of an established cougar breeding population," said Mary Detloff, a Department of Natural Resources spokesperson. "We feel the cougars that are in Michigan are dispersed animals that have travelled from the closest populations in North Dakota and South Dakota."
Along with the photographic evidence, state officials came across cougar tracks in two separate areas recently -- one set in DeTour during the last week of October and another set in Gulliver earlier this week. Both sites are also in Chippewa County meaning they could be from the same animal.

The DNR released photos of the prints Wednesday showing the outline of a four-toed paw roughly four inches across. The agency, however, is not releasing the name of the private landowner who caught the cougar on camera for privacy reasons.

Because cougars are such a rarity here, Michigan has no wildlife management plan for them.

"In Michigan, they are a protected species," Detloff said. "You can't shoot them unless they are causing grave human danger."

The last documented cougar shooting in Michigan took place in 1906.

#2

But where or where are the Wolverines?

#3

We were out metal detecting for gold and came across a bear, scared the **** out of us. You never know what you will run into.

#4

I agree... I'd hate to run into these guys in the woods...

#5

I'd rather not experience the cat while digging, but they're out and about.

I had an experience in '92 that cracked me up. I went up to Republic, MI with a couple buddies to get one of their hunt camps ready for deer season. The usual - deer blinds, beer, salt licks, beer, tree stands, beer, pasties, beer, toilet run, more beer, sauna, beer, faceplant in a snowbank, beer, Euchre, beer...I think we had some beer, too. About 11PM while we were playing cards, there came this racket from a shed next to the camp. Sort of startling when you're a million miles from anywhere. So we shut off the lights in the lodge and turned on the outdoor flood, which worked perfectly against the snow. The racket remitted about a minute later and out of the shed wanders a huge cat. He was a silhouette against the snow and while we couldn't make out colors...yeah, it was a cougar. Very neat close encounter because I think big cats are cool animals.

A little while later, I was reading something in the Free Press about the great wildcat debate in Michigan. The article had a DNR number to call if you had a sighting, so I figured I'd give them a shout and let them know when and where. The guy takes all my information, asks me a bunch of questions, and finally tells me: "Well, we don't have wildcats in Michigan. I'm not sure what you saw but thanks for the information."

W T F ? They open up a wildcat hotline, people are turning in bones, scat, track pictures and everything...I and two friends watch one walk fifteen feet in front of our faces...but there are no wildcats in Michigan. It was like trying to call in a UFO! Just swamp gas reflecting the light from the Andromeda galaxy, I guess.

#6

Spotted these Cougars in Lower Peninsula

#7

i would like to start collecting those cougers Leon.

#8

My kind of Cougar here, not real tame either.

#9

Around here (southern MN) there is a bit of controversy on this subject. A couple of horses were attacked and indications are it was a large cat. Also, a landowner got a picture of a cat like creature that sure looks like a cougar, but local wildlife official types have declared it a Bobcat. I don't have the pic, but it sure looks bigger than a bobcat with different ears and other features. Why don't the DNR types want to admit it could be likely? Same thing happened a decade ago with wolves when they first started appearing. Now it seems to be taken for granted that it is possible, although rare.

#10

They are here and expanding their range across the upper tier of states. Not comon but there's been reports of them from at least a dozen Minnesota cities this year including Willmar, Bemidji, Elk River and Rogers. I don't see the issue with any of the DNRs in denying their existence. It's not a big deal, is it??

ML

BEMIDJI, Minn. (WCCO) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1
A cougar was killed in Beltrami County when it was struck by a vehicle.
Beltrami County Sheriff's Department

Close

A cougar was killed in Beltrami County when it was struck by a vehicle.

Beltrami County Sheriff's Department

1 of 1 Related StoriesSightings, Photo Give Evidence Of Cougar In Wis.
(4/22/2009)
No Signs Of Wis. Mountain Lion
(3/13/2009)
Minn. DNR Disputes Cougar Sighting Claims
(12/1/2008)
2 Minn. Horses Injured In Suspected Cougar Attacks
(11/22/2008)
Cougar Reported Roaming Mille Lacs County
(9/28/2008)
Related LinksRead More Minnesota News
A man struck a cougar with his vehicle on the Schoolcraft Bridge on Carr Lake Road in Bemidji around 10:40 p.m. Friday.

The cougar was killed on the scene, but there were no other injuries. The car was damaged.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said cougars are common in the western states, but not in Minnesota. Also called mountain lions, cougars have no natural predators and it is illegal to hunt or trap them in the Minnesota.

The state DNR took possession of the cougar.

#11

A Cougar was found in the city of Chicago. I think it was last year. Talk about out of ones element!

#12

stringsx24now wrote:Why don't the DNR types want to admit it could be likely?

That's exactly what I've always wondered. I lived in Colorado for 15 years, we would see mountain lions occasionally, and there was no debate whatsoever about their "existence." I just can't imagine what all the secrecy is about when so many people in the upper Midwest have experienced them.

I have never been a big fan of the Michigan DNR, either, so the whole thing just seems that much more humorous. They're said to "manage" the wildlife, but from what I've seen they can't manage a rudimentary finger-nose insertion.

#13

Here in Detroit area about 2-3 years ago there was what they called a Liger on the loose. Half Lion & half Tiger. Anybody ever hear of this? LEON.

#14

stringsx24now wrote:Why don't the DNR types want to admit it could be likely?

That's exactly what I've always wondered. I lived in Colorado for 15 years, we would see mountain lions occasionally, and there was no debate whatsoever about their "existence." I just can't imagine what all the secrecy is about when so many people in the upper Midwest have experienced them.

I have never been a big fan of the Michigan DNR, either, so the whole thing just seems that much more humorous. They're said to "manage" the wildlife, but from what I've seen they can't manage a rudimentary finger-nose insertion.

Under the federal Endangered Species Act, if the Michigan DNR admitted there was a state cougar population, it would be required to set up a cougar management program.
Too much time and too much money, especially in this dead broke state.
Plus Dave is right, rank incompetence.

#15

But where or where are the Wolverines?

Uh, 5-5 and headed for another crappy season? Bo must be rolling over in his grave.

#16

But where or where are the Wolverines?

Unless you mean the four-legged type

First Michigan wolverine spotted in 200 years
Last confirmed sightings were by fur traders in early 1800s
Michigan wolverine

By David Runk
updated 5:15 p.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 25, 2004

DETROIT - A biologist has confirmed the sighting of a real Michigan wolverine, about 200 years after the species was last seen in the state that uses the small but ferocious animal as its unofficial nickname.

Coyote hunters spotted a wolverine near Ubly, about 90 miles north of Detroit. Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist Arnie Karr saw the forest predator Tuesday and snapped pictures of the animal as it ran out of the woods and across a field.

The wolverine, a member of the weasel family that grows to about 25 pounds but is ferocious enough to fight off bears and wolves, once ranged across the northern and western United States. It is now limited mostly to northern Canada, Idaho and Alaska, with sightings in a few other states, but its last confirmed sightings in Michigan were by fur traders in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The appearance is "up there with having a caribou or a polar bear turn up," Department of Natural Resources spokesman Brad Wurfel said Wednesday. "It's unprecedented."

How the scrappy animal returned and even whether it ever really left are mysteries in the state, where the best-known Wolverines are athletes at the University of Michigan.

Raymond Rustem, supervisor of the natural heritage unit in the department's wildlife division, said the wolverine could have traveled to the state, been released or escaped from captivity.

"What it means, who knows?" Rustem said. "When you take a look at the wolverine, there's always been this debate about whether wolverines ever were a part of Michigan's recent past. Some evidence shows that, some says no."

The wolverine was on Michigan's endangered species list until the late 1990s, when it was removed because it wasn't expected to return, Rustem said. Conservationists asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to put the animal on its endangered list in 2000, but the agency in October declined to study whether the species should be added.

: 040225_wolverine_hmed2p.hmedium.jpg (13.93 KiB) Viewed 7278 times

#17

there was what they called a Liger on the loose. Half Lion & half Tiger. Anybody ever hear of this?

Pretty much my favorite animal

: liger0505.jpg (35.5 KiB) Viewed 7267 times

: Napoleon-Dynamite-napoleon-dynamite-117747_356_367.jpg (23.34 KiB) Viewed 7266 times

#18

Lovegun wrote:
My kind of Cougar here, not real tame either.

Those were always my favorite Cougars. Covered headlights and sequential turn signals. Cars don't get much cooler than that. I'll take that over anything made today.

We are missing another very dangerous type of cougar here. This type has even been spotted in the savage swamps of Louisiana. Be very careful if you see this cougar:

#19

Leon wrote:Here in Detroit area about 2-3 years ago there was what they called a Liger on the loose. Half Lion & half Tiger. Anybody ever hear of this? LEON.

Guess Brian S. Never heard this on the local Detroit News? Thought you lived near Detroit?

#20

Many claims of cougars or cougar prints from people have turned out to be the more common bobcat, big house cats and dogs. One claim in Minnesota turned out to be a yellow labrador. That's why wildlife managers have a healthy skepticism about claims without evidence. The Michigan story is based on wildlife officials who recovered a good image of a cougar, and confirmed paw prints. No photo, no good paw print = no confirmed cougar.

When I lived in southern Minnesota, officials I spoke with were more concerned about livestock damage, and spooked livestock, from wild dog packs. Makes sense. There are many more wild dogs running around Minnesota then cougars. There was a confirmed roadkill wolf in southern Minnesota, confirmed and announced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The other possibility not mentioned in the Michigan story is an escaped captive cougar. This land is awash in exotic pets, and they sometimes escape, or the owner lets them loose because they become too much too handle.

#21

Guess Brian S. Never heard this on the local Detroit News? Thought you lived near Detroit?

Leon,
I did hear of it and I do live in suburban Detroit(Detroit until recently: this decade) You are correct. If memory serves it was in Sterling Heights, along the Clinton River watershed. There were TV helicopters and numerous watchers and hangers-on while the Macomb County sheriff was trying to capture the animal. Needless to say it was a debacle.
Experts said the Clinton River was a perfect area for a big cat:plenty of food such as ducks, geese, mink, raccoons, muskrats etc.
I do remember the idiots at the Michigan DNR said they thought, if it existed, it was a former "pet" that was released when it became too big.

#22

The other possibility not mentioned in the Michigan story is an escaped captive cougar. This land is awash in exotic pets, and they sometimes escape, or the owner lets them loose because they become too much too handle.

That's the Michigan DNR line. There have been too many sightings, scat collections, paw prints and impressions, and yea, a dead cougar killed by a car. The DNR threw out the turned loose pet line, for the car-killed cat.
The same DNR refused to admit the wolverine sighting despite hunter video, until a DNR biologist saw and photo'd it herself(the one I posted).
Michigan's DNR is populated by some really good people and a lot of bureaucratic buttheads who like being civil servants(can't be fired and have excellent benefits).
In short, too many hunters and guys like dave Wheaton(see above) have seen the critters.

#23

There's been a number of cougar sightings in the Southern Tier of N.Y. for several years now. I talked to one guy who claimed to have seen one on several occasions but still no hard proof. The whole "escaped pet" theory keeps coming up out here too, must be the "go to" answer when the rangers don't know what to think of it. We're getting more and more bear up this way (one was killed by a car within the Buffalo city limits this past summer) and coyotes are everywhere now so I guess it's possible. I guess I'll believe it when I see it.

#24

BrianS wrote:
Under the federal Endangered Species Act, if the Michigan DNR admitted there was a state cougar population, it would be required to set up a cougar management program.
Too much time and too much money, especially in this dead broke state.
Plus Dave is right, rank incompetence.

Now that, I can believe.

#25

In my travels through the woods I've encountered many bears, several wolves, and plenty of other varmits. All of them hightailed it as soon as they saw me. I've yet to run into a cougar but have a a feeling that it would not take off lickity-split. They are bad-asses and know it so would likely saunter off being as cool about it as possible.

Here in Oregon a law was passed in the mid-1990's that banned the use of dogs for hunting cougars. Prior to that the pack of dogs would tree the cougar and then the hunter would eventually catch up and shoot the cat out of the tree. Hunting was permitted to keep the population in control and strictly managed unlike the old times when there was an all effort to eradicate them. The majority of voters live in urban areas and would not know a cougar if it was tearing their throat out. The perceived view was that it was horribly cruel and unfair to the cute little kitty-cats to use dogs so the law passed easily. Since then the population has more than doubled, sitings around the edges of larger populated areas are fairly common and ranchers are losing lots of livestock. Some backlash is finally starting to occur but until somebody is killed or maimed in a well publicized case, nothing will probably change.

On the topic of Wolverines, I read recently that one was confirmed to be found here in Oregon. It was the first one known in 50+ years although stories of possible sitings have been circulating for the last few years.

#26

There was some well publicized cases in California. One incedent had Cougar(s) attacking Joggers on a well used Jogging/Bike trail.

#27

Hell, there's dinosaurs up there if you deep enough into the woods.

They lay their eggs in beer can dumps and defend them to the death.

#28

Beverlx wrote:Hell, there's dinosaurs up there if you deep enough into the woods.

They lay their eggs in beer can dumps and defend them to the death.

I thought I was the only one who had seen that.

#29

Can't wait for those to hatch!

#30

Here is a follow-up story in the Detroit News.
Regarding the cougars not those UP dinosaurs!

DNR growls at numerous cougar sightings in state
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News

To this day, Walter Hempel isn't 100 percent sure what crossed in front of his car five years ago on U.S. 23 outside of Rogers City. But he cataloged what he saw with the hunter's eyes he's used in the wilds of Michigan for most of his 80 years.

The loping gait, snub nose, high ears and drooped belly -- after taking it all in, he figured he'd just seen a cougar.

In Michigan, such a statement can be enough to start a nasty argument. So even years later, Hempel is quick to follow up by saying: "I have no reason to lie or make something like that up."

A trail-cam photo of a cougar snapped roaming the eastern Upper Peninsula in October -- the first such photo verified by Michigan's Department of Natural Resources -- has given new life to the debate over whether the endangered species is here in substantial numbers.

There's more than curiosity at stake. Some wildlife enthusiasts fear that despite hundreds of reported sightings from all over the state -- as well as one group's claims to have found DNA evidence of cougars in eight different counties -- Michigan officials are denying the true extent of the cat's presence here. The reason, hunting and animal advocates charge, is the state doesn't want to institute a management plan for the cats.

State wildlife officials have verified evidence of cougars in only six instances in more than a century, all in the Upper Peninsula and all within roughly the past two years. They admit there may be cougars here but say the big cats are likely limited to the north and are too few to constitute a prosperous, or breeding, population.

That infuriates true-believers and has helped foster talk of a cover-up by the state. The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy's Web site features a lengthy position paper titled: "Hiding the Cougar -- Denying the East its Apex Predator."

"Up until two, maybe three years ago, the Department of Natural Resources actively tried to cover up cougar evidence in Michigan," said Denise Noble, a Van Buren County Commissioner and founder of the Michigan Citizens for Cougar Recognition. "I think the reason has been that if there is an established breeding population here, then they would become responsible for managing it. And Michigan is flat-out broke."

Getting a handle on what a program would cost is tricky, but Florida has been actively managing its panther population -- panthers and cougars are the same species -- since 1995. Last year, the program's budget was $1.5 million, most of which was generated through the sale of specialized panther license plates.

DNR biologist Kristie Sitar has no shortage of stories but, for the sake of example, she chooses one that originated in the Upper Peninsula near Newberry a few months ago. A woman submitted a photo of a cougar that she insisted was taken near her home.

Sitar and other DNR officials investigated the matter by going to the site, searching for tracks (they came up empty) and then doing a thorough examination of the picture itself. After picking over the image and doing some online research, they determined someone had attempted an unsophisticated hoax.

"It turns out the picture had been taken of a cougar in Arizona," Sitar said. "It has also been cropped and the image was reversed."

Oddly enough, tales of trickery are fairly common. And when you throw in the number of wild animal sightings from people who truly believe they've seen a cougar but are mistaken, it provides plenty of ammunition for critics.

Along with the photo, which was taken in Detour in the extreme eastern point of the mainland U.P., cougar evidence confirmed by the DNR includes: three sets of tracks found in Delta and Marquette counties in 2008, as well as tracks found earlier this month in Gulliver, which is in southern Schoolcraft County.

Sitar and some cougar experts say that doesn't add up to hard evidence that Michigan has more than a handful of the big cats.

"Confirming one or two cougars in Michigan does not confirm there is a breeding population," said Mark Dowling, who tracks the animals' population as a co-founder of the Cougar Network, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit that studies cougar ecology. "We are not convinced there is one."

More than a century ago, cougars could be found throughout the United States. Dowling said development and hunting pushed the animal into the western third of the country over time. The last known cougar taken in Michigan was in 1906 near Newberry.

As recently as the 1960s, the cats could be shot as vermin in states like Colorado and Wyoming.

But the public began to see cougars in a different light in the 1970s with the proliferation of new environmental laws that helped protect the animals and bolster their numbers.

Beginning in the 1990s, breeding populations began cropping up in the Dakotas and cougar sightings have been increasingly reported between there and Chicago.

Part of the reason, Dowling said, is male cougars will roam along waterways in search of new territories with enough cover and food, so it's not improbable for them to have worked their way to Michigan through the Upper Peninsula.

But if they were here in sustainable numbers, he said, they would be hard to hide.

"They get hit by cars," he said. "They get hit by trains. They get ensnared in traps set out for coyotes and wolves. There are a thousand different ways these animals can be detected.

"Inevitably, they show themselves."

Dennis Fijalkowski tells a different version of the cougar's history in Michigan. The cats have been here all along, he said, spread throughout the state. A large portion of the population has survived in millions of remote acreage owned by hunting clubs.

And people like Roger City's Hempel and Sandy Nelson will tell you that cougars have shown themselves already -- all over the state. The http://www.savethecougar.org Web site catalogs cougar sightings from Michigan residents, and there is no shortage.

The site collected eight reports of cougar sightings in November from Oakland, Ingham, Schoolcraft, Mason and Charlevoix counties. One anonymous report from Oakland County is typical of the mix of wonder and worry that most of these reports convey.

"Came out of Milford High School after my daughter's diving meet. She saw it first in the headlights. I got out of the car for a closer look and moved my car several times to keep watching. It went under the concession stand and then ran a short distance. ... We are hunters, and I am positive about what we saw!"

Noble said the reasons for the animosity directed at the DNR over cougars have as much to do with rejection as the animals themselves.

"It's that the government is trying to tell somebody that what they know to be true is not true," she said. "They're saying 'You're lying and we don't believe you. We discredit you.' And that's the real problem."

Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula

Re: Cougars In Upper Peninsula