DNR confirms cougar sighting near Lansing

[Cripplecreek]

CLINTON COUNTY, MI -- The state says it has confirmed the presence of a cougar in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the cougar was photographed near the Rose Lake State Wildlife Area in Bath Township by a 21-year old Haslett man in the early hours of June 21.

The man spotted the cougar in his headlights as it attempted to cross a road. He took a photograph as the cougar turned back from the road into an area of thick vegetation.

Where it came from isn't known, but the DNR says it's the first time the large cat species has been verified in lower Michigan.

The DNR won't release the road name where the cougar was photographed, citing a request for privacy among neighbors.

Questions about the animal's origins remain unanswered, said Kevin Swanson, DNR wildlife specialist and member of the agency's Cougar Team, which has been investigating the sighting since June 26.

The DNR maintains there is not a breeding population in Michigan despite 36 cougar sightings that have been documented in the Upper Peninsula since 2008. Cougars were native to Michigan, but were wiped out in the early 1900s.

Poached cougars in the U.P. have been genetically linked to mountain lion populations out west, Swanson said.

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/06/dnr_confirms_cougar_sighting_n.html#incart_river_home

If they aren't breeding here they're apparently flying in to Detroit metro for visits. 

[GtHawk]

Cougar?

[Suppressed]

Cougar?

Do I have to choose only one?

[Ghost Bear]

CLINTON COUNTY, MI -- The state says it has confirmed the presence of a cougar in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the cougar was photographed near the Rose Lake State Wildlife Area in Bath Township by a 21-year old Haslett man in the early hours of June 21.

The man spotted the cougar in his headlights as it attempted to cross a road. He took a photograph as the cougar turned back from the road into an area of thick vegetation.

Where it came from isn't known, but the DNR says it's the first time the large cat species has been verified in lower Michigan.

The DNR won't release the road name where the cougar was photographed, citing a request for privacy among neighbors.

Questions about the animal's origins remain unanswered, said Kevin Swanson, DNR wildlife specialist and member of the agency's Cougar Team, which has been investigating the sighting since June 26.

The DNR maintains there is not a breeding population in Michigan despite 36 cougar sightings that have been documented in the Upper Peninsula since 2008. Cougars were native to Michigan, but were wiped out in the early 1900s.

Poached cougars in the U.P. have been genetically linked to mountain lion populations out west, Swanson said.

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/06/dnr_confirms_cougar_sighting_n.html#incart_river_home

If they aren't breeding here they're apparently flying in to Detroit metro for visits. 

I'm glad the d@mned things weren't around when I was a kid in the UP. It was bad enough worrying about stumbling across a mama bear or a skunk when we were traipsing through the woods.