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Cougar sighting confirmed in Dickinson County

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Michigan Department Of Natural Resources
The Michigan DNR confirmed this cougar picture was taken on a trail camera in Dickinson County in September.

A trail camera caught an image of a mountain lion walking through the woods in Dickinson County in September.

Wildlife biologists with the Michigan DNR confirmed the sighting Wednesday.

The spot this photo was taken is about 50 miles from where a July 20 video captured a cougar in Baraga County.

The DNR says it looked into the photo after it made headlines and was shared widely on social media, but at first it couldn’t confirm where the photo came from.

The DNR said a team was able to investigate the report after the owner of the photo saw a newspaper story about it and contacted the DNR.

This latest confirmation brings the total number of confirmed cougar reports to 74 in Michigan since 2008. This figure does not necessarily translate to the same number of cougars because a single animal may be included in more than one confirmed report

So far this year, 10 cougar reports have been confirmed in the U.P., including three from Dickinson County, two from Marquette County and one each from Baraga, Delta, Houghton, Luce and Schoolcraft counties.

This year continues a three-year trend of the highest number of cougar reports confirmed over the past 14 years. The previous high of seven confirmations in a single year was surpassed in 2019 when 11 reports were recorded, followed by 15 in 2020.

The DNR says the higher number of sightings could be because of more trail cameras.

Previous genetic research has shown the cougars seen in the Upper Peninsula have dispersed to the region from states west of Michigan. The DNR has no evidence confirmed of a breeding population of mountain lions in the U.P.

You canlearn more about cougars in Michigan on the DNR’s website.

Katie Thoresen is WXPR's News Director/Vice President.
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