Research Reveals Resident Cougars in Both Peninsulas of Michigan
September/October 2002
The Michigan Wildlife Habitat Foundation has uncovered more evidence of cougars (mountain lions) in Michigan. Many biologists and wildlife officials had presumed cougars vanished from the state nearly a century ago. But in the last two years, the Habitat Foundation has found cougar DNA in scat (droppings) from widely separated areas in the northern Lower Peninsula, as well as in the Upper Peninsula. The group has also documented physical evidence of cougars, such as tracks and videotapes, at several other sites.
The ongoing research, headed by Dr. Patrick Rusz, the Foundation’s Director of Wildlife Programs, has revealed a cougar population likely hampered by a “genetic bottleneck.” That is, many of the cougars are apparently descendants of a small number of individuals and do not reproduce well because of low genetic variation. “It is a common problem in wild cats worldwide, and something well documented in cougars in Florida, where wildlife officials thought the only population east of the Mississippi River was found,” said Rusz.
Working recently with Central Michigan University’s Biology Department, the Foundation has confirmed DNA evidence of cougars in the Upper Peninsula’s Memoninee and Dickinson Counties, and in the Lower Peninsula’s Presque Isle, Alcona, and Roscommon Counties. Scats from several other Lower Peninsula counties have not been thoroughly analyzed, but are expected to be verified as that of cougar in the coming months. The genetic information from those animals will eventually allow an assessment of what is going on with the population. “We are just beginning to analyze the data and more clues as to the origin and status of the cougar are being generated every day,” said Dr. Rusz. Curiously, the cougar has officially been considered completely gone from the state since the early 1900s, but it is nevertheless listed as an endangered species in Michigan.
More DNA data were obtained from a skull found in Michigan’s Chippewa County and from three cougars recently found in the wild in Minnesota. Two men clearing brush in a power line right-of-way last summer found the skill and eventually turned it over to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Foundation received a sample of the skull and blood of a female cougar shot in Minnesota. Additional scat samples were obtained from the cougars two cubs, which are now housed in the Minneapolis Zoo. Genetic information from the Minnesota animals is important, because it will help the Habitat Foundation understand the cougar population from a Great Lakes regional perspective.
One study area where a cougar has been detected includes the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Benzie and Leelenau Counties. The Foundation is conducting investigations there with the cooperation of the National Park Service. Several senior park staff members have reported seeing cougars in and around the Lakeshore for many years, and the Foundation’s field crew has found both tracks and scat.
Laboratory technicians at CMU found cougar DNA in the Foundation’s suspected cougar scat samples. The researchers excluded the possibility that the DNA was that of bobcats by comparing the results with both known cougar DNA and DNA from tissues of Michigan bobcats harvested last year. Two cougars were actually seen during fieldwork in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (by Central Michigan University field technician Mark Rusz), and in Roscommon County (by outdoor writer Bob Butz).
The Foundation’s findings have shocked many wildlife biologists as well as others around the state. Some skeptics have long scoffed at the reports of cougars in Michigan, nothing that most of the state’s skilled woodsmen and biologists have not reported evidence of cougars for nearly 100 years. But the reason people have not detected cougars may have more to do with human nature than the big cat’s scarcity or renowned secretive behavior. Consider this note written in a 1925 volume of the respected Journal of Mammology by biologist William Evert Cram of New Hampshire.
“I recall telling an old trapper that I had found tracker which I was sure were otter tracks along Exeter River and Old River in Hampton Falls. He replied that he had trapped minks and muskrats along both streams all his life, and if ever an otter had been along there he guessed he should have known it. Within the next two years I trapped four otters, shot one which I lost, and saw others within two miles of where that old trapper lived. He was a keen observer than I have ever been, but believing otter to be extinct here, he failed to see their sign.”
Over the years, there have been at least 1,500 credible cougar sightings reports by Michigan citizens and dozens of instances in which physical evidence of the big cats was found. Yet, most of that evidence was dismissed by wildlife officials as mistakes or simply ignored because of the long-standing assumption that the cougar was extirpated and any cougars actually seen must be escaped or abandoned pets/
Challenging such notions, the Foundation selected study areas based on their long histories of cougar sightings. The records of Mike Zuidema of Escanaba and Ed Klima of Crystal Falls were particularly helpful in directing search efforts in the Upper Peninsula. Several other citizens compiled useful summaries of reports in the Lower Peninsula. After a Foundation field crew found cougar sightings near Gulliver in Mackinac and Schoolcraft Counties, more locations were eventually searched. Local citizens played a major role in helping find cougar sign.
The Foundation’s study has attracted national attention. Cougar sightings have long been reported throughout the Eastern U.S. and Canada, but solid evidence of resident cougars east of the Mississippi River has previously not been documented except in Florida’s Great Cypress Swamp and Everglades areas. The methods of detecting cougars used by the Foundation’s field crew are of great interest to investigators in other states because the techniques are fairly inexpensive and do not involve capturing live animals. Most of the cougars in Michigan were located by two or three people walking trails in spring. They primarily searched for cougar scats, some of which are buried in snow and easily spotted after the snow melts. The trick is to pick the trails most traveled by cougars and to distinguish cougar scats from those of coyotes, wolves, bobcats, and dogs. Tracks, territorial markings, and cougar-killed deer are incidental discoveries. Conventional methods of detecting cougars in the West involve tracking in snow or on roads in dry weather. This has also been the primary method tried in the East, but was found to be a very inefficient method of locating Michigan cougars.
In the next few months, the Habitat Foundation and CMU will jointly explore a number of important questions about the population genetics of the cougar in Michigan. The DNA analyses are expected to give clues about the level of inbreeding and the overall status of the population. Background information can be reviewed in The Cougar In Michigan: Sightings and Related Information by Dr. Patrick Rusz. The 64-page report can be ordered at a cost of $10. To request a copy, call 517-641-7677 or send a written request to the Foundation at 6380 Drumheller Rd., P.O. Box 393, Bath, MI 48808. Check the Foundation’s website for other information about cougars.
The Michigan Wildlife Habitat Foundation has uncovered more evidence of cougars (mountain lions) in Michigan. Many biologists and wildlife officials had presumed cougars vanished from the state nearly a century ago. But in the last two years, the Habitat Foundation has found cougar DNA in scat (droppings) from widely separated areas in the northern Lower Peninsula, as well as in the Upper Peninsula. The group has also documented physical evidence of cougars, such as tracks and videotapes, at several other sites.
The ongoing research, headed by Dr. Patrick Rusz, the Foundation’s Director of Wildlife Programs, has revealed a cougar population likely hampered by a “genetic bottleneck.” That is, many of the cougars are apparently descendants of a small number of individuals and do not reproduce well because of low genetic variation. “It is a common problem in wild cats worldwide, and something well documented in cougars in Florida, where wildlife officials thought the only population east of the Mississippi River was found,” said Rusz.
Working recently with Central Michigan University’s Biology Department, the Foundation has confirmed DNA evidence of cougars in the Upper Peninsula’s Memoninee and Dickinson Counties, and in the Lower Peninsula’s Presque Isle, Alcona, and Roscommon Counties. Scats from several other Lower Peninsula counties have not been thoroughly analyzed, but are expected to be verified as that of cougar in the coming months. The genetic information from those animals will eventually allow an assessment of what is going on with the population. “We are just beginning to analyze the data and more clues as to the origin and status of the cougar are being generated every day,” said Dr. Rusz. Curiously, the cougar has officially been considered completely gone from the state since the early 1900s, but it is nevertheless listed as an endangered species in Michigan.
More DNA data were obtained from a skull found in Michigan’s Chippewa County and from three cougars recently found in the wild in Minnesota. Two men clearing brush in a power line right-of-way last summer found the skill and eventually turned it over to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Foundation received a sample of the skull and blood of a female cougar shot in Minnesota. Additional scat samples were obtained from the cougars two cubs, which are now housed in the Minneapolis Zoo. Genetic information from the Minnesota animals is important, because it will help the Habitat Foundation understand the cougar population from a Great Lakes regional perspective.
One study area where a cougar has been detected includes the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Benzie and Leelenau Counties. The Foundation is conducting investigations there with the cooperation of the National Park Service. Several senior park staff members have reported seeing cougars in and around the Lakeshore for many years, and the Foundation’s field crew has found both tracks and scat.
Laboratory technicians at CMU found cougar DNA in the Foundation’s suspected cougar scat samples. The researchers excluded the possibility that the DNA was that of bobcats by comparing the results with both known cougar DNA and DNA from tissues of Michigan bobcats harvested last year. Two cougars were actually seen during fieldwork in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (by Central Michigan University field technician Mark Rusz), and in Roscommon County (by outdoor writer Bob Butz).
The Foundation’s findings have shocked many wildlife biologists as well as others around the state. Some skeptics have long scoffed at the reports of cougars in Michigan, nothing that most of the state’s skilled woodsmen and biologists have not reported evidence of cougars for nearly 100 years. But the reason people have not detected cougars may have more to do with human nature than the big cat’s scarcity or renowned secretive behavior. Consider this note written in a 1925 volume of the respected Journal of Mammology by biologist William Evert Cram of New Hampshire.
“I recall telling an old trapper that I had found tracker which I was sure were otter tracks along Exeter River and Old River in Hampton Falls. He replied that he had trapped minks and muskrats along both streams all his life, and if ever an otter had been along there he guessed he should have known it. Within the next two years I trapped four otters, shot one which I lost, and saw others within two miles of where that old trapper lived. He was a keen observer than I have ever been, but believing otter to be extinct here, he failed to see their sign.”
Over the years, there have been at least 1,500 credible cougar sightings reports by Michigan citizens and dozens of instances in which physical evidence of the big cats was found. Yet, most of that evidence was dismissed by wildlife officials as mistakes or simply ignored because of the long-standing assumption that the cougar was extirpated and any cougars actually seen must be escaped or abandoned pets/
Challenging such notions, the Foundation selected study areas based on their long histories of cougar sightings. The records of Mike Zuidema of Escanaba and Ed Klima of Crystal Falls were particularly helpful in directing search efforts in the Upper Peninsula. Several other citizens compiled useful summaries of reports in the Lower Peninsula. After a Foundation field crew found cougar sightings near Gulliver in Mackinac and Schoolcraft Counties, more locations were eventually searched. Local citizens played a major role in helping find cougar sign.
The Foundation’s study has attracted national attention. Cougar sightings have long been reported throughout the Eastern U.S. and Canada, but solid evidence of resident cougars east of the Mississippi River has previously not been documented except in Florida’s Great Cypress Swamp and Everglades areas. The methods of detecting cougars used by the Foundation’s field crew are of great interest to investigators in other states because the techniques are fairly inexpensive and do not involve capturing live animals. Most of the cougars in Michigan were located by two or three people walking trails in spring. They primarily searched for cougar scats, some of which are buried in snow and easily spotted after the snow melts. The trick is to pick the trails most traveled by cougars and to distinguish cougar scats from those of coyotes, wolves, bobcats, and dogs. Tracks, territorial markings, and cougar-killed deer are incidental discoveries. Conventional methods of detecting cougars in the West involve tracking in snow or on roads in dry weather. This has also been the primary method tried in the East, but was found to be a very inefficient method of locating Michigan cougars.
In the next few months, the Habitat Foundation and CMU will jointly explore a number of important questions about the population genetics of the cougar in Michigan. The DNA analyses are expected to give clues about the level of inbreeding and the overall status of the population. Background information can be reviewed in The Cougar In Michigan: Sightings and Related Information by Dr. Patrick Rusz. The 64-page report can be ordered at a cost of $10. To request a copy, call 517-641-7677 or send a written request to the Foundation at 6380 Drumheller Rd., P.O. Box 393, Bath, MI 48808. Check the Foundation’s website for other information about cougars.