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The DNR will not come outright and say that their is cougars in Michigan. In the past three months two have been photographed one in the lower penninsula and one in the upper penninsula. Another cougar was sighted in the lower penninsula about 80 miles from the one that was photographed. My wife & I have both had seperate cougar sightings in the upper penninsula. I personally know several hard core hunters people who would know a cougar if they saw one who have seen them. The one I saw was 25 feet in front of my car in the early morning under the headlights it was definitely a cat about 125 pounds with a tail about 30 inches long. My wife saw one in the same area cross I-75 a week later 100 feet in front of the car on a clear day at 3:00 in the afternoon. I have no doubt that they are here. Has anyone else seen one? Are there any doubters?
Fin Chaser the web site you posted has the pictures of the cougar that was sighted at sleeping bear dunes on 09/07/2009. If that is not a cougar I don't know what it is. I saved the pictures to my computer and expanded them although none are really clear pictures they all look to be a cougar. I have found several other pictures supposed to have been taken in Michigan that do not appear to be bobcats or coyotes. Illinois claims to not have cougars even after three were photographed several times by a trail cam and one was shot by police in Chicago. I have seen coyotes go across the ice in the winter I imagine it would not be difficult for wolves and cougars to do the same.
I know of a guy near Gobles, MI that supposedly has pictures of a cougar from 2 years ago when he was sitting in his deer blind. I have not seen the pictures, but I have absolutely no reason to not believe this guy. He has nothing to gain by lying to me. I believe they are here.
Keep the MI cougar story quiet - as long as they don't exist then nobody cares if I shoot a couple! I know of one that was spotted in Ogemaw County and I also know one of the cops that was in on the shooting in Chicago - he said the cougar was seen in a tree next to a grade school - little chubby Timmy makes a good kitty snack. BTW look up Rodgers Park in Chicago where the cougar was killed - this kitty was slummin in a crowded city area - nothing but buildings, alleys and streets - not much in the way of parks or such for kitty to be - kitty did not care - hell there is even a picutre of the kitty sneaking behind one of Chicago's finest tubby coppers - they finally pinned the kitty in a back alley with a wall and no escape
Soon all the kitty's and med and large doggies (aka coyotes and wolves) will be munchin on the two leggers in the cities and then all of a sudden they might need hunters again - just read a story today about some Canada girl got mauled and killed by coyotes - time to put em all back a bit closer to extinction
I am not saying there cant be cougars in michigan but every time there is HARD evidence of a cougar,(ie) trail cams, dnr pics, or anything like that it turns out to be a fake. The fed park service will not say for sure there are cougars in the park so I doubt they have a picture of one and the last email that was going around from manton mi. with a cougar had a new mexico DNR officer in it, Another one had a cat jumping on a mule deer. So I guess what I am trying to say is if you want to believe something enough you can almost make it real.
Happy hunting
Capt Dave
A few years ago I went fishing in the thumb and we were driving around all the farmlands and came up on a dead cougar lying on the side of the road. It was hit, and it defiantly was a cougar.
Shoot to wound! Shoot, Shovel, Shut UP!! Shoot and Kill then walk away never to return!!!!If I shot one I would not even tell my wife. I know they are here it is the reason I do not unload my firearm until I am back at my vehicle. At my UP hunting spot I walk a mile in total darkness through a cedar swamp full of wolves, bear, and possibly cougars. The DNR (idiots from Lansing) want me to carry an unloaded firearm.
I'm not sure if I agree with your thoughts steeliebob. Has anyone in Michigan ever came back with a statement that they were attacked by a cougar? I would say if there haven't been any reports of someone being attacked by one then there is no reason to shoot one just because you can. I would agree if you shot one out of self-defense, but I'm not sure what exactly you're getting at. And it seems that there is enough evidence that there are cougars in Michigan, whether or not the DNR wants to admit to it. But if there are, thats just one more reason that makes this state great!
Fin Chaser, you must be from the lower penninsula which is fine. Predators are fine as long as they live in the UPPER PENNINSULA because NOBODY wants them in the LOWER PENNINSULA including the DNR. We have to live in harmony with the wolves up here because the DNR says that we have to.The DNR has huge fines for shooting wolves which I guess it deters some people from killing them. I wish the DNR would transplant about 200 wolves to the lower penninsula to prove my point. I have had a couple of occasions to see wolves when I have been deer hunting and I did not shoot at them. I see wolves quite often when I am ice fishing, they look at you like you are lunch. Not an easy feeling when you do not have a firearm. I would rather not see a cougar when I am ice fishing. If I ever see one ice fishing I will not go back without a firearm
Bob seriously he never said fuckall about wolves and your going on like he did. If your so scared carry a pistol its perfectly legal to carry a pistol in plain sight with no ccw permit, or do you intend to go Rambo on the next wolf "cougar", or annoying squirrel that comes at you and start shooting that rifle from the hip in the dark. I swear sometimes some of the shit I read I think to myself "if he had a brain he would take it out and play with it".
I would guess that I have a reason to be concerned about cougars. It is just another non game species that the DNR will eventually spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of hunting & fishing license money trying to study and protect. How much money do you think the DNR spends on the wolf program? Okay now double it once the DNR admits cougars are in Michigan they will be spending money on them. I spend countless hours fishing brown trout salmon & steelhead every year in the dark. I for one know that on most nights you can see clearly from 50 to 100 feet once your eyes adjust. I would say that a person who chooses to fish in limited light would sometimes wonder if a cougar, wolf, bear or other predator may have sized them up at one time or another. I might add that at the price of ammo I do not shoot at annoying squirrels. More often than not when I pull the trigger my aim is true. I will add that I have very good reasons to fish in the darkness.
Just watched 9&10 news where they said the sighting is confirmed and get this they said the dnr said there has ben cougars in michigan for two years but this is the first confirmed cougar in the eastern U.P. They claimed they think the cougars are migrating from dakota. I still believe these are pets that got too big for there owners to handle. If you go on 9&10 s web site they might have it up by now for all the details it aired at 6 pm today.
In the past 20 years some of the western states have eliminated or changed cougar hunting which has caused the western population to increase so they have been on the move relocating east. Now that they are in Michigan I believe that the DNR is going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars tracking and protecting them. Another deer eating machine in the UP, I am sure that they will only prey on the sick and weak ones just like the wolves do. I am aware that there has been quite a few sightings in the lower penninsula too. I saw the news article and I believe the DNR when they say the population is too small to breed but back about 1988 they said that about the wolves too. I can only hope that someday the DNR will realize who pays their wages. Lots of the local hunters from my area in the UP are now hunting in Canada because the deer just are not here anymore. I have been fishing on the Carp River for three months now and have not seen one deer this fall. When there are no deer left what are the large predators going to feast on?
I was hunting early bow season in the Traverse City area in 2006--I was in a very secluded swamp area near Bunker Hill Rd. (Traverse City East side)--I was experimenting with a new doe bleat call and making some pretty bad sounds--A large cat walked to to within 40 yards - sat down and watched me-- It was Brown, did not resemble a bobcat and had a long tail--I do not hunt there anymore!
Jim C.
I'm not sure how reliable the source is, but I heard a story about a cougar. There is a farmer north of the city of Midland that found one of his steer dead in a tree. He also has pictures of it on a trail camera. But this was about a month ago and no one that I know of had heard of it, and no one has ever seen the pictures of them. But it wouldn't surprise me if there were cougars in the Upper Peninsula. There is a lot of uninhabited land that isn't watched in the mountains. There is a website devoted to the siting of cougars that is worth checking out. www.michigancougar.com