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Cougars in Michigan

We have pictures of them here in South West PA. According to our game commission: "there are no cougars in Pennsylvania". Yea...right!! Sometimes it's good to keep that gun behind the china hutch.
 
What did the DNR say. Here in MN they keep saying there isnt an issue, yet people have seen them and have them on trail cams. I seen one near my place in fall of '04, but havent seen one since. Really makes me nervous letting the kids roam the country side now.
 

Saw one in SC. Game Dept says they are not here, but there is a large fine for shooting one sincew they are protected, and internet look up says sightings may be of privately kept ones that have escaped. Lets see, you shoot an animal that does not officially exist and may be an escaped one illegally kept and you are going to be fined? SSS.

KEH
 
Saw one here (NY/PA border) about a month ago. DEC says there "ain't none" around here. Others have seen them too.
 
Dave,
DNR is telling us the same thing. "There are none in your area of MN". I agree with them whole heartedly! Because we all know I couldn't have "dealt" with something that was in amongst my cattle that doesn't exsist in our part of the state anyway!

Yeah Right! I've seen them myself with in the past year or so. There is no way of mistaking a cougar with a bobcat or lynx. Two totally different looking and size cats.
 
Morning KEH

Here in Iowa they are not protected and we can shoot.

Some have been shot.

Gary
 
yup we got em here in northern illinois. chicago cops shot one last year on the north side of chicago. news said they arent from here, they musta came from wisconsin!!!!!!
 
MNR says the same thing in Ontario, there are no cougars. Technically I suppose they're right, they're Eastern pumas.
 
A lot of people see them here in NC but the wildlife people say they don't exist, but there is a big fine if you shoot one. Doesn't add up to me.
 
where was the sighting? I'm in Bradford co. and both my son and I have seen their paw prints.Saw one bound across the field by the house one morning. beautiful animal in full stride.
 
I think they may be federally protected. They kill one around here once in a while (Central Texas). They clamed one killed a few years ago weighed almost 200 lbs. I have seen several pictures taken with a game camera. I have tracks of every kind around my pond, especially now that we are in a drought. I have seen there tracks occasionally. They are very sly, but I think there are a few in every state. Where there is deer there is Cougar
 
Gary did you see the pics of the Mt Lion that was hit by a car on hi-way 30 the DNR had to put it down that boy was big and what a set of paws.
 
Mi DNR says they dodn't exist in Mi.But have put up signs in at least one state park in the west side to be looking and careful.Mark
 
Mi DNR did NOT put signs up in a state park on the west side. That was Sleeping Bear-National Park Service. They had a "reported" sighting. After that, they did an exhaustive study, trail cams, bait, etc. They got photos of lots of critters, but no cougars.
 
Be careful,

I saw a show on TV years ago and this family had a reunion at a camp site. They all posed for a family picture with about 25 of them in the picture and once the picture was developed you could see a cougar in the weeds behind them just stalking them.

They think it may have been waiting for one person to break away from the group (herd).

This show was about campers who have been attacked by wild animals.

I've contemplated on taking a hand gun with me when we go camping just for this reason. You never know!1

This is scary!!
 
My first thought was this is a post by plowhand, oops wrong kind of cougar,LOL. The Illinois DNR said there were no black bears in Il until they caught one after a year of reports, now it must have come from somewhere else. I trust my eyes alot more than what someone was told in college.
 
Same thing here in Nebraska. They're around, and the Game Commission says they aren't. Even after one was shot in the City Limits of Omaha.

A rancher I know out in the Sandhills says every fall when he brings cattle down off summer pasture, there are always several missing and several more with claw scars. I've seen tracks on our farm, and they've been sighted within a couple of miles. There have been a couple hit on the road hereabouts, also. And yet, officially, according to the Nebraska Game Commission THERE ARE NO MOUNTAIN LIONS IN NEBRASKA.

Also in Nebraska, it's only legal to shoot them in self-defense or in defense of property (livestock).
 
Relaurain.

Obviously you are new to Michigan... The only cougars in Michigan have to be sited and confirmed by the DNR. Numerous reports from citizens over the years. DNR tells them they are full of it.

Typical DNR statement

"Mr. or Mrs. Relaurain, Thank you for your inquiry regarding large cats in Michigan. But you are not a trained wildlife biologist like I am. Therefore we believe you took your submitted pictures at the Detriot Zoo and superimposed your backyard into the picture. Signed DNR"

DNR still denies cougars are in the lower peninsula.

I think any normal person in Michigan will believe you though. Including the lady that hit one with her car last year. Even the hair DNA came back as a cougar.

End of my scarcasm. Now to comment on your post.

Yes cougars are serious. Many, many reports from western states of them attacking pets, children and adults. Typically they don't run away from people. They hide and then pounce on them. I would keep my eyes open.

Oh, and if you shoot one attacking your family, you better make sure you are 1 inch from death, or the DNR will say you were not justified and were killing wildlife.

Any chance on some pictures??

Rick
 
No I did not gene.

But I did see the one that was shot about 6 miles from here in the Coralville Reservoir ground about 3 years ago. Shooter kept it quiet so the tree huggers in Iowa City would not get wind of it.

They are a big kitty.

Gary
 
It helps to get evidence now that there are people putting out motion sensor trail-cameras. These pictures were taken by a trail cam just west of Columbus, NE by the Loup River. People had reported seeing a Mountain Lion in the area, but the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and local authorities told them they were just seeing things....until these pictures came out. I have a friend near Amherst, NE that also got a picture of a young cougar on his trail-cam a couple years ago...he lives by the Wood River.
Tom
MountainLion016.jpg

MountainLion015.jpg
 
I would be concerend too - they can be a nasty customer for domestic animals. I have pictures of cat footprints I took here in Michigan a few years back. I believe they are cougar. Within a few days, I heard a screach that lifted me right outta bed. Next day a friend reported almost hitting one within 3 miles of here. DNR has done some backpedaling, now says there isn"t a BREEDING population!
 
A neighbours 6 year old son came face to face with one when running over a hill a few years ago (we're in Saskatchewan, Canada). He ran back one direction, and the cat ran the other (luckily!). He ran back to the house so out of breath he couldn't talk, and just showed his mom a picture from a book to explain what he saw. His dad went out to the spot and the tracks confirmed it was a big cougar.

The reality, though, is that there are not as many cougar attacks on humans as some people think since the media makes a national incident out of it when one happens (a much larger number of people are injured or die from dog attacks). I think what scares most people is that a person has little chance of surviving an attack from such an efficient predator, let alone even knowing what attacked before you die. Just watch the efficiency with which a barn cat hunts and catches a mouse and then increase the predator size 50 fold; a person doesn't stand a chance if a cougar decides it is hungry.
 
Illinois says critters come from Wisconsin? Sort of right, we've sent them kangaroos, bears with tracking collars, Emus, Llamas, Gnus--so a big kitty is possible. Chicago sends us Latin Kings, old Blackstone Rangers and external_link- we have cause to send them big rat catchers as they have lots of big rats. RN
 
Not too many years ago a cougar was shot by the
high school in St.Paul NE. And many,many years ago we saw one in northern Hall county in NE.

steveormary
 
You ain't just a kiddin',

When one of those ol' boys lets out a scream, it'll absolutely stand the hair up on the back of yer neck.

Allan
 
Same story in Ks. Game Warrdens say they don't exist. Numerous spottings of one in the Kansas City area were all dismissed until one got hit on the interstate. One was found in Oklahoma a while back. It was a young male that was tagged. Last known to be in Colorado. The best guess is that it followed the Arkansas river through Kansas into Oklahoma. If that is correct it would have been within a mile of my place about 12 miles before going into Ok.
 

Some ranches we've hunted on in South central TX offer a bounty if you can kill one. We've seen several. I would suggest shoot to kill, then walk away. Unless someone sees you shoot, it would be almost impossible to prove who the shooter was.
 
I know exactly what you"re talking about. Friend of mine just north of Amherst had one in his yard. NGPC said it was a bobcat or a coyote. He got a pic and they finally said it was probably a cougar but they wouldnt confirm it. We"ve had several reports in my area (about 50 mi. NW of there) and they try and say they"re bobcats or coyotes and such. The only official I ever got to agree with me was when I said you say cougars probably arent permanent residents of NE but they travel through quite often.
 
Back in the early 60's one of my High School classmates was adamant that there was at least one in the Oberlin, KS area.
My parents saw at least one a couple of miles Northeast of Oberlin one time and believe they watched another one just outside their back door about 20 years ago (about 10 miles NE of Oberlin). Mom says he just sat on his haunches and looked at the house for a while and then trotted off.
 
A few years back I saw a panther in my front yard which is heavily wooded. I just figured it was someones pet that got away-scary!
 
I think with them being protected their showing up every where,My daughter swears she saw one cross the road in the west part of OKC,friend of mine has a family of them on his place in western Okla.said they had 3 kittens last year,he likes to have them around because they cut down on the deer.says as long as they kill deer and not his cattle they can stay.neighbor out at farm swears he had one jump on back of horse he was riding,horse does have scars down its backside.the only one Ive personally seen was down on the Texas/Mexican border.late one night it crossed in front of the truck.they made it legal to shoot them here last year,of course there's not any around, this is just in case!!
 
Has anyone seen the interview with the guy who had to fight one off, he was no young man either, his wife assisted, and eventually got him to stop, but this gent took on some serious damage to his cranium! He somehow kept his wits about him, most of those cats want to break your neck, he knew that, a rarity, but he was on the menu that day !

I've heard rumors of them in NYS, DEC keeping mum about it etc. Thing is, if on the hunt they see you before you can do much about it, 'cept fight or intimidate him off, tangling with one of these can't be much fun, that and the black bear, also a rarity, but happens, DEC nailed a 200 lb bear across the road, would seem those kind of cats would have a lot of deer to hunt in some places of the country, and or ones livestock.
 
I'm the forth generation here in my home town so no, I'm not new to MI. I did get pics of the tracks and I did report it to the
DNR. For something that isn't here, why do they have a link to report Cougars? They are planting them just like the wolves! I watched them cross about a 200 yard field just walking so I got a good look through the Bino's,... Cougars!
Had the body as thick as a deer at the same range. Tracks too big for a Bobcat. It's a cool thing until someones kid gets killed by one of these!!
 
NcNE,
Your friend wouldn't be Rod W.?? We worked together, but he recently retired. He is always sending me pictures of the deer, foxes and turkeys that he captures on his trail-cam. He sent me this picture of a fox who had found his next meal.
Tom
fox-wabbit.jpg
 
Jo Jo , seems to me a year or so ago one was spotted and a picture was in the local papers of one in the Freeport area, The picture was clearly visible as to it was a cougar to an untrained eye ,

But Game commission had to investigate, saying it was unidentifiable in the picture.

Heard of it that one time and all has been quiet about it since. ??
 
I heard one scream when I lived in MA.Sightings were reported and I saw tracks.My son and I were looking for a calf that didnt come in with the rest of the cattle.We were in a clump of trees in the pasture.He came out into the open and saw a full side view of the cougar.When I stepped out he pointed at the cat.It turned away fast and went into a shady area.I saw the tail and the hind end of the cat.The calf was standing about 50 feet from the cat.A month later a shopping mall opened and had 2 cougars in a cage on display.My son said thats what I saw before it turned into the shady area.Ive seen a photo of a cougar about 50 feet from 2 dogs.Half wits said it was a fake.
 
There was one around here in southern newaygo county about 3 years ago. I saw it one night just prior to first cutting out in the hay field, and several neighbors had seen it also. DNR told us we were pretty much full of it. Then DNR admitted one was in the area but it was most likely just a domesticated pet let loose. Typical DNR BULL SH***. I would not think twice about shooting them if you can. Theyre way overpopulated out west and are horrid for livestock kills and human attacks as they have no predators. If they arent here in MI, then why are they protected according to DNR rule book?
 
There was one spotted in one of the Parks in Terre Haute Indiana just last week. A year and a half ago , one female got loose from a Big Cat Rescue center in Neigboring Clay county. She has never been captured and was supposedly one who had had bad human experiances so was not likely to be that close to town "They say". They set up a tiger trap but haven't caught it yet. There have been some reports over the past few years of other so called "Pet Cougars" getting loose here and I know they can have a very large "range" so I hope those loose ones don't get a breeding program going. There was a large ferral house cat population in that park a year ago and may still be a bunch loose there, I wonder if it smelled those house cats scent and wandered over that way thinking it may find a mate. Go to Mywabashvally.com and look up the news story.
 
The bobcat and lynx cat have a very short tail.No way to confuse them with a cougar.Black bear are common here.Many are taken by hunters every year.Ive never seen one in 43 years working in the woods but they are present.Ive seen plenty of sign.Moose are rare in this area but I have seen a few over the years.
 
I get so frustrated when I read comments on websites of people wondering why officials are not doing anything about cougar sightings. They are doing something, they are buying up green space, increasing fines for harming cougars, and studying them to make sure they can put all the appropriate plans into place to make sure the cougars are safe enough to become a sustainable population by 2013. They are not an endangered species being protected, they are the highly numerous northern cougar that someone decided should have a protected path into Ontario. They have already proven there is no Eastern cougar, read the most current articles, the experts do not refer to them as eastern, just cougars in the east. Will they be presented as the answer to the deer overpopulation and coyote management? Since they are more adaptable than a coyote and their only enemy is man and a nasty kick by their prey, what will manage the cougar when they do what the coyote did, get out of control? Are cougars stalking Ontario or is Ontario stocking cougars? What will this mean to sugar bushes and pumpkin patches, scouts and girlguide camping trips, hikers, weekend getaway campers, should we embrace what they are doing, or should we protest? A bigger question is, do we have a choice, are we being appropriately informed, how long before the public as a whole knows "the plan" that has been in place since 2006. Do we want an Ontario that in rural communites our children have to be escorted to and from bus stops, children cannot be unattended travelling to friends or playing in yards. Children and pets have to be restricted so wild animals can have the freedom of using our properties. For every article that tells you not to worry about cougars, they all end the same way, you should not leave children or pets unattended and you shouldn"t walk alone. Don"t crouch down. Call me crazy but to have to have those restrictions on my own property feels threatening. These animals are not native to our area, they are not endangered. I understand animal rights but is there a line when restricting peoples rights to encourage an animal that is not even from here. We are already seeing increased encounters in the papers all over Ontario, what type of encounters are we going to see when they actually reach sustainable numbers.
 
Wife and I seen 1 back in about 88'. It was probably hunting mice around some round bales I left in a remote field. I called the DNR, they told me there were no cougars in MI. I told him I guess it was OK then to shoot it. He told me I couldn't. I said if it didn't exist, then I'd be shooting at nothing. Afterward I talked to others who also seen it. One was a county truck driver, the other drove a LTL truck.
 
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