Comments on: Mt. Lions In Michigan?

By: is2simple

is2simple — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:18:13 +0000

april 4,2009 11:25 a.m. i saw 2 large tan cats across the swamp (about 40 yards) the cats were just a tan color and the tails were about the same length as the torso. i live in southern washtenaw county near the irish hills area. the first winter i lived here in 2001 i saw another large cat the same size but it was completely black, i was less than 50 feet away. these are not house cats, i have never seen a house cat the size of a fox!

By: golfishunts

golfishunts — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:35:54 +0000

my friend sent me some pictures last week of three cougars eating a deer that were taken with a motion sensing trail cam just south of Munising in the UP. These animals all appear to be full grown and in the 80-90 pound range. I have hunted in the UP for years and about 5 years ago we found 2 deer carcasses in the campsite we use north of Manistique (about 12 miles from where these cougar pictures were taken). These carcasses did not have the usual gnawing marks that should have been left on the bones had these been felled by wolves or cayotes. We believe that they were probably cougar kills.

By: traveler

traveler — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:11:38 +0000

Finally! I was one of those people that had reported a sighting, and was told I was mistaken. It was in Upper Michigan (same area as a bf sighting, btw). My father and I were out looking for a new trout stream, and we had just hiked back to the car and got in to share a soda when he pointed out the window. There, not 10 yards away, a Mountain Lion was walking parallel to the car, then crossed over in front of us It was a young male in its prime.

Very majestic. A few years later in the same general area, my mother was driving on the road at dusk and about 20-25 yrds in front of her she saw an animal cross. She wasn’t sure what it was, but as she described it, she mentioned the long thick tail. We believe that it was the same one, and that he was a permanent resident. If you asked any of the old timers, they all knew that they were around.

By: oldpine

oldpine — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 04:19:13 +0000

I have never figured out way state game officials are so dead set aginst admitting that mountain lions can exist within their state, but this seems to be the norm through out much of the country.

By: DreamKeeper

DreamKeeper — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:21:01 +0000

I live right next to the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. They have “Beware of cougars” signs. Now if the DNR says there aren’t any cougars in Michigan, why are there warning signs? I constantly hear stories about people seeing cougars in Northern Michigan. Now if there isn’t a cougar problem, we must all be crazy.

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:13:41 +0000

This is exciting news, indeed…
Thanks for the heads up, Loren…:)
Wonder what DNR will do now?

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:08:59 +0000

Maslo63- It’s not necessarily true that claw marks will always be absent in cat tracks. Let’s forget for a moment that a general statement that all cats have retractable claws is not true, and that there are some species of wild cat that actually have claws which do not fully retract, and focus just on mountain lions. If the ground is soft, such as sand or snow, claw marks can be present in the tracks regardless of their ability to retract their claws. Also, if the cat was running when it made the tracks, especially in conjunction with soft ground, there can be claw marks left behind in the tracks. So in fact claws can show up sometimes in cat prints.

By: aastra

aastra — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:13:35 +0000

“I guess I should have taken a picture after all, but I cannot imagine that a cougar would come into town…”

People should be aware that cougars can and do venture into urban areas. They’ve even been captured in the downtown cores of large cities.

Recent examples of cougars-in-the-city:

- Chicago
- Saskatoon, SK
- Los Angeles (Altadena, Orange County)
- Olympia, WA
- Omaha, NE
- Denver
- Kansas City
- Victoria, BC

By: Insanity

Insanity — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:07:03 +0000

As a resident of western Michigan, I have had hunter friends tell me that they have seen tracks and signs themselves, including deer carcasses up in trees. There are very few critters that can or will drag a deer carcass into a tree. On one occasion my wife and I believe we may have seen a small cougar dead along the highway.

By: maslo63

maslo63 — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:50:45 +0000

Were there claw marks present in the tracks? Since cats have retractable claws they won’t show up in a footprint. With dogs however the claw marks will be present.