MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The DNR is reminding anyone who sees larger animals near residents to report them to the office or the Cougar Observation Report on their website. A recent post on a Marquette Facebook group reported a cougar sighting by the Ishpeming end of the Heritage Trail.
DNR Biologists said there aren’t any established populations in the UP or of any breeding cycles this far north.
As young cougar cubs disperse out of their familiar territory and search to form their own, Wildlife Biologists say they look for their own kind and can end up wandering far if not states away.
“They filter through Minnesota and into Wisconsin and eventually in the Upper Peninsula but we just don’t know of any breeding or any established population in any one area so it’s more likely we have these individuals that just continually wander around,” commented DNR Wildlife Biologist Brian Roell.
DNR is urging anyone who is concerned or have witnessed these animals, to report them immediately to the DNR so they can investigate the tracks before they disappear.
