Cougar Photographed in Leelanau County

The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy has released results of an investigation that confirms a cougar was photographed near the south shore of Glen Lake in Leelanau County.  The site is adjacent to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore where the National Park Service has had “cougar warning” signs at its trailheads since fall of 2003.  

On Labor Day, September 7, 2009 Dr. Jerome Wiater and his adult son, Christian, observed what they believed to be a cougar (mountain lion) at about 3:30 p.m. on a clear, sunny day.  The sighting was along County Road 675 near its intersection with County Road 616.  Dr. Wiater, an orthopedic surgeon (MD) residing in Bingham Farms, Michigan, was walking to Glen Lake with a camera in hand, planning to water ski.  He and Christian (who was nearby) were startled to see a large, long-tailed cat they believed was about the size of a big dog.  Dr. Wiater snapped two photos of the animal—one when it was in shade and the other when the animal was walking in a shallow roadside depression through a more sunny spot approximately 209 feet away.  

Dr. Patrick Rusz, director of wildlife programs for the Wildlife Conservancy, took measurements and photos of objects of known size at the site on September 9 accompanied by Christian Wiater, a National Park Service employee, and another witness.  Dr. Rusz analyzed the photos in consultation with forensic photography experts and concluded that the animal had the profile and coloration of a cougar and was too large to be a house cat.  Specifically, he found that the cat was likely more than 30 inches long from nose to end of body (excluding tail).  House cats typically have body lengths of 18 inches.  The cat’s body was at least 10.9 inches from top of back to bottom of chest/belly, just slightly less than for a mount of an adult cougar that Dr. Rusz measured as part of his investigation.   

“Both Jerome and Christian Wiater stated that the animal they observed was about the same size as their pet hound,” noted Dr. Rusz.  “Based on my analysis, it may have been slightly smaller than the dog, but was definitely the size of a small cougar.  The Wiater photos, along with decades of sighting reports and tracks found in the same general area during the past 9 years, provide compelling evidence of the presence of cougars in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore area.”  

The Wiater photo may lead to another interesting chapter in the long effort to get public officials to acknowledge the presence of wild cougars in Michigan.  When the National Park Service erected signs at trailheads at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore advising users about cougars there, it marked the first time a government agency had clearly acknowledged the presence of cougars in Michigan.  The state Department of Natural Resources has long insisted that wild cougars don’t live in Michigan, especially not in the Lower Peninsula.  

The Wildlife Conservancy began investigations to determine if cougars were present in the Lakeshore in 2001.  The Conservancy extended that research in 2002 and 2003 under a permit from the Park Service.  Dr. Rusz delivered a paper summarizing initial findings at a Park Service conference in Wisconsin.  The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy had documented cougar tracks, droppings, and cougar-killed deer in the Lakeshore and a Central Michigan University worker saw a cougar during investigations in the Park.  

Stating “You Are A Visitor In Cougar Habitat,” the signs emphasize what to do if one sees a cougar.  The Park Service took this action soon after a well-respected volunteer, Eleanor Comings, had a close encounter with a cougar.  The animal followed her for about 20 minutes after she radioed Lakeshore headquarters.  Comings’ encounter occurred in part of the Lakeshore where the Wildlife Conservancy had periodically found cougar tracks and other signs.  Wildlife Conservancy staff first informed the Park Service of the presence of a cougar in that area in 2001, and the Park Service acknowledged its own personnel and numerous citizens had seen cougars in and around the Lakeshore.  Steve Yancho, the Lakeshore’s chief of natural resources, was quoted by veteran writer Eric Sharp in the November 20, 2003 issue of the Detroit Free Press as saying, “….visitors have reported sightings for years.  The cougar sightings kept getting more credible.  We even had biologists who were doing work for us report they’d seen cougars.  That was pretty hard to ignore.”  Six years later, Yancho recently said “We have no plans to take the signs down.”

Copies of the full text of Dr. Rusz’ report along with photos used in his analysis are available on our website at: http://www.miwildlife.org/c_ai_leelanau_sept_2009.asp or by contacting us at (517) 641-7677, or wildlife@miwildlife.org.  

[Return to Newsletter Index]