Why Michigan Is Trying to Catch a Wild Cougar

Over the past few years, we’ve been hearing about more and more cougar sightings in Michigan. And while not every report turns out to be legit, quite a few of them actually are.

Well, we now know cougars are definitely roaming the Upper Peninsula. Confirmed sightings have been increasing, and the biggest moment came last winter when a female cougar with two cubs was confirmed in Ontonagon County. That was the first proof of breeding cougars in Michigan in about 100 years.

Cougar Sightings in Michigan Are Increasing

Most confirmed sightings continue to come from the Upper Peninsula, which honestly makes sense. There’s a lot more remote land up there, and plenty of room for an animal like that to roam around without being seen very often.

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Even with the growing number of sightings, wildlife researchers still don’t know a ton about what these cats are actually doing here. Are they just passing through from western states, or are some of them actually settling down and living in Michigan full-time?

DNR May Capture and Collar a Cougar

To try and answer that question, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is considering capturing and collaring a cougar in the U.P.

According to MLive, the idea is to use large cage-style traps. If they’re able to capture one, it would be fitted with a satellite tracking collar so researchers can see where it goes and how it moves around the Upper Peninsula.

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For now, it’s just a proposal. But if it happens, it could finally give researchers a much better idea of what cougars are actually doing in Michigan. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised they haven’t tried something like this sooner.