First Cougar Cubs Discovered in Michigan in Over a Century

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“For the first time in more than 100 years, cougar cubs have been discovered living in the Michigan wild,” says the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in a press release. Biologists say this could be the first known cougar reproduction in the area in modern times, since humans hunted cougars from existence in Michigan during the early 1900s.

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The Michigan DNR says state biologists used photographs taken by a resident to confirm the existence of two cubs found on private land in Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula. The presence of cubs, each estimated to be 7-9 weeks old, is a sure sign that the wild cats still roam there in secret.

Unfortunately, the DNR says there was no sign of the cubs’ mother.

“Although cougars are native to Michigan, most of them now appear to be transient animals, dispersing into Michigan from Western states,” explains the DNR. Despite the DNR’s 132 verified cougar reports, DNA testing has confirmed only adult male cougars . . . until now.

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See the cougar cubs spotted in Michigan here: