Can't believe the DNR is denying the numerouse sightings of the big cougar! Last year I was driving north from Manistee on M-22 heading home to Suttons Bay. It was early in the morning about 7AM and as I was just South of Frankfort about 20 yards in front of my truck was a cougar crossing the road and heading into the 3 foot tall grass. It was a beautiful thing to see. I have about 8 acres of cedar swamp behind my house in Suttons Bay and have seen fox and deer and my wife saw a bobcat. This is within the village limits mind you. We also have a great dog that loves the woods and the creek that runs both in front and behind our house and there have been times when he refused to go into the woods. Upon my investigtion I knew why. I found bear claw marks on the ground as it foraged for grubs or roots. Again I know what I saw. Michigan is full of wildlife of all kinds and if more people would respect the woods then there would be even more. As I learned in Boy Scouts I always leave the woods cleaner than when I entered and wish the people that do the illegal dumping of garbage in the woods would show more respect for our friends the wildlife's home!

If any of you that have left comments here would like to check out this newsletter go to:
www.easterncougar.org/newltr_pdf/ecfnew_winter02aw.pdf.
this confirms that there are cougar in MI. & they would like to hear of your sightings. I have never been fortunate enough to see one but I believe they are here.

We have a cottage in the Barryton\Mecosta area east of Big Rapids. Two weekends ago, my wife was leaving with the kids to go back home and she saw what she told me was a Bobcat. I did not question her about it because I figured she knew what a Bobcat was and I was just upset that I did not see it. Later when she was discussing it with someone, they mentioned something about a long tail and my wife said that it did have a long tail.... That sparked my curiosity.... On the web, I pulled up pictures of Bobcats and Cougars and she definately said that it had a long tail, was the size of a medium-sized dog, all golden brown in color, with a few black marks on the face. She said it was definately a cat as it turned towards her before it bounded off into the thick weeds... A friend of mine saw one in Kalkaska a few years ago... so I was not too shocked, but still am surprised that it is so close to our cottage... But then there was a Black Bear within a few miles of our home in Grand Rapids a few years ago.....just wish I had seen these animals.....

Not only is it very possible for cougars to be here, but it is very plausible as well. Michigan has ideal habitat for cougars, with plenty of game for them to live on. If coyotes can live in suburban Detroit, where I live, (and there's a lot of them around here), then there's no reason not to believe that cougars have taken up residency in Northern Michigan.
I just hope that the people of Northern Michigan can learn to live peacefully with them and leave the magnificent animals alone.
Changing the subject, I have to comment upon the dreadful use of the English language I've just read in many of the previous comments. I am a sixth grade teacher, and I can say without a doubt that all of my students have better grammar and spelling skills than what I have just read here in the comments section. This deeply disturbs me on many levels. Has the education system failed the smaller Northern towns, or were those people just typing fast and being careless? I fear that those people really don't know how to spell or construct sentences properly. I know they would have never been passed to the seventh grade at my school.

I firmly believe there are really cougars living in northern Michigan...However, the animal in the photo accompanying your story is a fox!!

Look at the ears - they are not rounded and they are too large, compared to the head size, for a cougar. Also the tail is not long enough and is too bushy.

Unfortunately, when this kind of "evidence" is published it just reinforces the DNR's contention that everybody is "seeing things". By now, I think most Michiganders realize the DNR will continue to deny the cougars' existence until it actually bites them in the behind.

I looked into the story more, and found it not true. The owner of the IGA is Ken and the only thing he caught was a fish from ludington. The DNR officer with the cougar not a michigan CO. So no cougar killed in michigan yet. lol

I also recieved a email of the cougar killed in mesick michigan! Should be looked into, It looks very true! considering there are lots of pictures..

Recieved an email with Photos today, Sept. 10, 2009 that a cougar was killed in Mesick. Have not verified but would think this would be front Headline news in Michigan the second it happened.
Plan to call around to find out more and verify.

I saw one today! I was hiking Sugarloaf in between rain showers with two friends. We were heading west down the mountain when I saw a mountain lion cross our path about 150-200 feet in front of us. He crossed through a clearing. When we got to the spot where I had seen him, we found tracks in the sand. The prints were approximately 3-1/2 inches across and the span between prints was about three to four feet, which confirmed the size of the animal I had described. We didn't have a camera (my fault!) and it was getting dark so we didn't get pictures of the paw prints. I had no idea that mountain lion sighting are rare. Definitely the highlight of my trip up north this year!

On July 6 2009, I saw what I thought was my dog crossing the road (m-66) about 5 miles north of Lake City. So I ran out to get her and it turned out she was in the house the whole time, the same thing happenned yesterday, I was doing Laundry and looking out my back window I saw what I thought was her again, So once again I go to the door and call her in, once again it was not her, she was in the house.
So Im just going crazy wondering what this is Im seeing, Its all black and walked with its head low to the ground, I didnt get much of a better look because like I said I thought it was my dog. And by the time I relize its not my dog, whatever it is Im seeing is gone. I also found some animal feces in an open area in the yard, , I noticed also a lot of hair in the feces...I know this is not another dog and also not a bear. Is it possible it could be a black cougar? My family just laughs at my, they keep telling that I didnt see a Cougar, But I cant help but wonder.

that photo of the deer and the "small cat"--it's not a cat but a gray fox

Excellent video on Michigan cougar "cover up" topic, by ABC investigative reporter.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6158309

Having been outwest many many times and having seen wild cougars, and tracks I am by no means clueless.
some friends of mine claimed to have seen cougars not far from Lake city city limits so i checked sure enough i found cougar tracks, bob cat tracks and also a few bear tracks in the area.we took some pictures of the tracks and emailed them to the DNR they identified them as exactly what i had, Cougar, bobcat and bear.
they also told us there were prolly several cougars in the area and all the way to Houghton lake, they knew of many in the deadstream swamp area.So for them to deny is rediculous. they did the same thing to me about 17 years ago when i lived in Lake county and had spotted a wolf while turkey hunting. total denial till i talked to a Biologist whom told me on the "side" that there were a and I quote pair of three of wolves in that area.
now relize folks these animals do not pose a great danger at all, wolves have a terrible reputation from childrens stories But are totally unfounded. do some checks on wolves attacking humans and you will find there are extremely few since the 1800s and those were rabid wolves. you stand more of a chance of being attacked by a dog.
the same holds true for Cougars, In Michigan its extremely easy for them to catch a dinner at almost anytime, they are very reclusive and in our neck of the woods if you get lucky enough to see one you may want to buy a lottery ticket, these cats are NOT man eaters,and rarely will they attack an animal even the size of a deer.
in our area there preffered diet would be rabbits,squirrels, and wild fowl such as grouse and turkey,you hear of attacks out in California that ios caused from encrouchment and lack of available feed, forest fires driving them to the safety of a nearby city etc.other states that have high populations of cougars do not experience such attacks.the most dangerous thing we have here in Michigan to the human population is bees, especially yellow jackets who nest in the ground and are pretty aggressive.
so hopefully we wont have a bunch of people "panicking" about such Cats and trying to kill them off. They are even more leary of people than a black bear and not many of us are lucky enough to see those even though the populations are very very high right now...

If you do find yourself eye to eye with one of these magnificent cats and feel threatened just make yourself as big as possible without provocation,stand on anything that will get you higher than normal spread your arms slightly and look towards the animal without direct eye to eye stares, do not turn your back to it and run away, you can add distance walking backwards,

Years ago my fatherinlaw and brotherinlaw seen a cougar on the top of the cabin..sunning its self in the sun. And of course DNR said they were crazy. I have seen the tracks of them many times.
About 3 to 4 yrs ago my friend had huge tracks arond her mobile home. The neighbors said they had seen a huge cat there.Also we heard horses had been attack and a dog. We went to the dNR and their was someone from the fed.fish and game dept there. They were going to issue kill permits.
About the same time there were posters around sleeping bear dunes warning of cougars in area.
So the DNR cannot tell me there isnt any cougars around.

To my knowledge there have been 4 sitings in the East Jordan Area. 3 of which were inside the city limits. The last siting was Wed. June 10th, just before dark, behind my home within the city limits of East Jordan. It is hard to prove to the DNR, and rightly so, if there are no pictures. But when one sees a large cat, tan in color, with a 4' long tail, tell him it's just his imagination. Just thought you would like 4 more dots to go on your Up North Michigan Map.

There are very credible reports of cougar sightings in the UP, one of which was videotaped. The DNR denies their existence. There are those who wonder if this is so because they are unfunded to monitor these animals like they did with the wolves. It"s a costly proposition to have to do this.

I saw a cougar near the Pere Cheny cemetary in Crawford County five years back. I had a fuel wood permit and was walking through the woods about 100 yds from my truck. I was looking up while walking, I had my eye on a nice dead oak which was leaning on another tree. As I got closer to the tree, the "cougar" (which was hiding near the base of the tree) just took off through the thicket. I saw the back of it head and tail. It scared the hell out of me as I had nothing with which to defend myself. a friend of mine saw one cross Stephen Bridge Road near 4 Mile just a few years ago. I'm not concerned with the opinion of the DNR reguarding the presance of this animal.

Does anyone need to hear the DNR tell you that you saw what you saw? Can the DNR tell you that you did not truly experience your sighting or that you don't honestly have your photos or video in your very own hands to look at? It is very clear that it is the DNR that should be held to task for incompetent action as a state agency. But that's another topic. Do any of you really need them to validate what you have already proven to be true? Certainly other research organizations would be interested in your helpful information? What an exciting thing to have in our local ecosystem/environment! Thanks for sharing all your stories and pix with the rest of us!

I believe that the DNR doesn't want to admit that there are cougars running throughout northern lower Michigan because if they do then they would have to do protection and hunting seasons for them that all cost money they don't have.

Its not the fact that anyone wants to harm any of these animals. It is totally the fact that the DNR refuses to acknowledge that they are her in Michigan. Nobody said anything about killing them. And as far as the other comment about the DNR planting them here. Sorry, I dont believe the DNR has that kind of money or resources to pull something like that off. They cant even control the animals they do admit to living here.

I saw a cougar out here a few years ago, but wanted to make sure I had the time frame correct on how long he was in my view. When I sent my comment, I wrote about 50 seconds that I saw him for. But when I really thought about it, it was more like 22 very long seconds. Just wanted to make sure I had my facts correct. It felt like almost a minute though. If you re-write what I wrote, could you please change the time frame. Thanks! anne

Last night I followed with great interest your report on cougar sightings in the lower peninsula of Michigan. I filed a cougar observation report online to the DNR of a cougar that I clearly saw on September 3, 2008 at approximately 8:15 a.m. less than a mile north of Big Rapids. It ran across Bjornson Road about 150’ in front of me, from a large lawn into the woods, as I was driving southbound. To confirm what I saw, I visited Ferris State’s Card Wildlife Museum later that day and yes, the stuffed animal is larger than the one I saw, but otherwise identical in color, form and shape. Upon submission of my report, I received no thank you, nor any acknowledgement of my sighting, much less a follow up inquiry. I know the DNR always wants hard evidence for these sightings, but they are unexpected and momentary. I have no motive to invent something like this.

We lived east of Ellsworth, MI about 20 years ago and would hear an animal "cough" (like a lion you would hear on TV) as it made its way past our place, down into a ravine and down the the lake. There was long grass and woods around us hiding it. I finally found a huge cat print and took pictures with a ruler by it and sent it to the DNR. Got the same story from them, except they did say there were no native cats that size in the state, admitting they were cat prints. Now, there is no reason they couldn't be gradually coming down from Canada, and, as for getting to the lower peninsula, we not only have a bridge, we have winter ice for them to travel on. Wolves can do the same thing and that is probably how the coyotes got to the lower peninsula.
A neighbor near me also contacted the DNR about that time regarding a cougar and invited the DNR to come out and camp at her farm to find out for themselves. They weren't interested :)
Several other people in the area said they saw the big cats. All of us knew the difference between a cougar, bobcat and lynx and mountain lion. This "cat" seemed to travel a circuit and be in the area a short time about every three weeks. We moved away so I don't know how long it came around.
Seems like in recent years I saw a film on TV about a cat a DNR employee took of one in the UP.

Why is the media making such a big deal about Cougars? They are part of the eco system and belong on this earth. In Scottsdale/Carefree Arizona where I live in the winters, We live with them everyday! there's no state getting involved and killings them unless encase of rabies or if some idiot not aware of the wildlife/Surroundings and don't take precautions gets killed. Cougar, Bobcats, Wolves, Bears and even Jaguars living in Arizona, We just live with them. It's seems here in Michigan the answer is to kill off any and all animals of threat! Instead of working together to save these animals and their environment and limit where new developments are built. Or Oh my God! do what they do in Arizona (even in the big cities there) and try to co-habitat with the God given wildlife! I am truly disturb by the people here in Michigan and how their belief that wildlife is easily expendable. I have Huskies, Macaws, Horses, sheep and nothing has ever happened to them due to Cougars. Katarina von Brandt :

I saw a cougar in 1986 on Deveroux Lake Road about onne mile west of M33 itwas tan with a long tail and in 1984 I saw a wolverine in tha pigeon rive state forest and told the state foresters about it and back then they told me that there hadent been a wolverine in Michigan since 1900 boy was they ever wrong on that one to.

There have been at least two sightings I know of in the Hoxeyville area by motorists on S 13 Road near a local resort Coyote Crossing. Each person saw these cats crossing the road in front of them.
An avid bow hunter has also seen numerous deer carcasses pulled up into the trees over the last few seasons. There is only one animal that will & can pull it's dead deer kill into the trees.
It's been said that the DNR let these animals loose to combat the deer herds in MI. This was told to a homeowner in the Scottville, MI area by a DNR agent during a discussion regarding sightings in that area too.
Let's face it, these animals are in MI, and the DNR is still trying to deny their existence. To admit they exist would mean they would have to explain how these animals got here.
The idea the DNR actually thinks we're naive enough to believe it's the cause of domestically owned animals, or some other animal is quite insulting to us all.
Let's Finally Demand The Truth. As one other post mentions, will it take until someone actually gets hurt by these animals? I don't want to wait that long, nor do I believe we should have too.
Our children go to their bus stops in the dark during different times of the season. There are many who venture out into the woods seeking mushrooms, and I'm sure they're not carrying a weapon to defend themselves or their loved ones. Many people find our area a wonderful place to camp with their families. Do we wait for these animals attack before the truth is known?
Word of caution to all, always be prepared to defend yourselves, loved ones, or another while in MI because WE HAVE COUGARS!

May be it did not make the national news wires, but a large male cougar was shot and killed by a police officer here in Chicago, Illinois. Tests on the cougar prove that it was, in fact, a wild cougar that came down from the Dakotas by way of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Conceiveably, if there here in flatlands of Illinois, why then would they not desire a more suitable environment such as northern Michigan?

I just sighted a cougar on 06/09/09 at 6:08 p.m. as I was driving home from work. I spotted the cougar crossing M-32 just 2 1/2 miles east of the M-33/M-32 junction near Miller Creek by Atlanta. I immediately reported the sighting to a local DNR biologist. I did get a photo of the track and have submitted all my information. There is no doubt in my mind what I saw. This cat was about 100 lbs, had a long tail (approx 3/4 body length) and was light tan/greyish in color. Exhilerating to see!

There have been several reported sightings in the Harbor Springs area along Hughston Rd up to Middle Rd in the past year.

Mark,
I have heard of several accounts of large cat sightings in Northern Michigan. I have lived in the Mesick area, Lake city area, Manistee area and in the Roscommon area. And i have heard these stories everywhere I live. What I would like to know is "Why does the DNR not want to admit that these sightings could be true?" My opinion is that if they (DNR) admitted that there are cougars in northern Michigan, then would have to do something about it like research them and try to find them and they don't have the funding or the resources to anything like that. So it is just easier for them to not acknowledge the existence of the cougars. If someone gets hurt by one of these animals, will the DNR acknowledge their existence then?

I know that there was a big cat just east of the ironton fery in captivity. infact cheryland coop did a story on it a year or so ago.

I have a good friend who is a retired wildlife biologist who spent most of his career in the field in western states that are cougar habitat. He has only seen a cougar once. He also informed me that most of the cougar experts that he worked with could count their sightings on one hand. These are cougar experts who have spent years in the field mind you. It is well within the realm of possiblity for these cats to be in Michigan. Besides, look at how few sighting there are of bobcats and such, and we know they are in the state.

In August of 1997 while walking in front of my house
where we had recently retired and moved to from the Troy,MI area. My wife and I both heard a loud screeching,growling noise, from the woods near our house. I proceeded to go toward the area the noise came from and a beautiful Cougar came out of the woods and walked across the road approximately fifty feet from me. It hesitated and looked at me and then proceeded on its way into a pine planting just north of my house. It offered no objection to my being there and went sedately on its way.

I never sited a cougar, but I mite still have a picture on my old computer of a cougar foot print at my outside basement door. I'll try and find it and send it on to you.
My wife and her girl friend saw one on 3 different ocasions here at my place Tallman Lk Mason co. On a couple of ocaisions we seen large Bones (form a large animal) parcially eaten laying in the road or neer the edge of thye road, here in the Tallman Lk aera.

On another ocasion the My friend was a guard at one of the factorys in Manistee when a truck driver came in with a story about a cougar that was hit and killed around Freesoil rd and US 31 north. The DNR said at the scene to log it as a deer kill

Mark,
I had a mountain lion dart out at me on my way to work one early morning around 2am. This was in 2007. It was between Boyne City and Walloon Lake. I know it was a mountain lion cause my grandfather has a wall mount in his cabin of one. Not only that it was the biggest cat I've seen!

Scott Burns

Just a few years ago, my wife and I were attending one of the weekend snowshoe hikes sponsored by the National Park Service in Empire. One of the US Park Service employees, a woman in her early 70's, told us a story of how she recently came in contact with an adult cougar while on a hike through the park during the summer/fall season.

She said she was hiking along by herself and felt something was watching her. She turned and looked around, finally looking up to see an adult cougar perched up in a tree. She mentioned she was excited to see the cougar, though extremely nervous. The cougar, apparently came down from the tree and made its way in front of her for a brief confrontation. The cougar stopped in front of her(a very close 5-10 feet away.) Shortly, the cougar wandered off into the brush but reappeared to her side and seem to be following her. Growing concerned, the park service employee radioed in to the Empire station for help. They told her it would be a good 45 minutes until they could get someone to her location. They instructed her to continue making her way back to the trail head. She did so, in the company of the cougar a good part of the way.

This is how we recall the story, apparently a real-life experience of the park service employee. We were so intrigued with the story, being it came directly, first-hand from an employee of the park service.

Sincerely,

JME

I've never seen one, but that doesn't make it impossible. I think it is possible for a handful to be around. If tracks have been spotted why the denial?

With everyone carring cell phones these days, it should be easy to get pictures of these cats when people see them. I have yet to see 1 picture of a cougar confirmed in the GT area or Northern Michigan.

Until I see one, I'm with the DNR and believe they are non existent here.

Someone please post a picture of a cougar and not of a house cat either, like the one posted from the game camera!!!

The DNR says the mercury cougar dont exist

wake up people! HELLO

Mark,
I once thought i saw a cougar crossing a road up by Lark's lake a number of years ago.
But, i have something now that i am curious about. Last week, my waife called me at work and said there was something she had to show me when i got home. When i got there, she showed me an area that looked like some big cat buried it's skat. The area was about 3 feet in diameter with claw marks radiating all around. The claw marks were almost a 1/4 inch wide each and the 4 claw marks were 4 inches across on each swipe. I covered the area with a tarp to preserve the marks and have called the DNR to see if they want to check it out or analyze the skat. I don't have a camera so i can't send pictures; but, whatever it was had to be pretty good size and i would think it's much bigger than a bobcat.

my husband was driving on hwy 68 between onaway and rogers city a few months ago and a cougar crossed the street about 500 feet in front of his vehicle. he could clearly see it was a cougar.

Loved your article on fact finders about cougars. About 4 years ago as I was traveling down US 31 north along the open stretch of road from Traverse City to Acme, a cougar crossed the road in front of me at 3am. It was going down to the bay to probably get water or something. I will never forget what I saw either. Had a long tail and I have seen stuffed cougars before and know that this is what it was.

My wife and I had one cross the 2 track in front of us in the summer of 2007. I've walked this area since the late 1950s and this is the first time i've ever seen one. Have'nt seen it since. You can log your sittings on the web site www.savethecougar.org if you wish. They only go back 1 year in there arcives. When I logged in this sitting there was 2 other sittings in the 113 & 131 area. The web site is a very informative site.

THE DNR HAS DOWNPLAYED OR IGNORED PUBLIC SIGHTINGS AND OPINION OF ANYTHING THEY HAVE NOT THEMSELVES ACKNOWLEDGED. THEY HAVE BECOME TOO BIG AND TOO ARROGANT TO ADMIT THAT THEY MIGHT BE WRONG OR THE PUBLIC MIGHT BE RIGHT ON EITHER WOLF SIGHTINGS OR COUGAR SIGHTINGS. SO MANY OF THE WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS ARE MORE INTERESTED IN GETTING THEIR DOCTORATE OR MASTERS DEGREE AT THE TAXPAYERS EXPENSE THAT THEY LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT THEY WERE HIRED FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE. I CAN REMEMBER WHEN THE STATE HAD STATE TRAPPERS AND THESE PEOPLE KNEW THE WOODS AND KNEW THE WILDLIFE IN THE STATE. MOST OF THE DNR IS OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY AND ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH THEIR CAREERS AND ADVANCEMENT THEN PERFORMING THE JOB THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO.

Wasn't a female jogger stalked by a cougar a couple years ago or so on the vasa trail? The DNR went out and found tracks and confirmed it was a cougar. If the DNR are denying their existence here somebody has failed, or you have your "fact finder" story wrong. Ironic.

One question...wild cougar or pet cougar...what is the difference?