(WXYZ) — There have been 13 cougar sightings to start the first half of the year, according to the latest information from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
DNR data shows that the 13 sightings have happened on 12 different days, with the most recent being on May 1.
Last year, there were 31 confirmed cougar sightings, which was the largest number since 2008. However, the number of trail cameras has also increased, and the DNR operates more than 1,300 trail cameras in the Upper Peninsula alone. The DNR also said that some cougar sightings may be of the same animal by different people who are nearby to one another.
Below are the sightings from 2026
- Jan. 2 via photograph
- Feb. 6 via video
- Feb. 9 via tracks (two cougars)
- Feb. 17 via photograph
- Feb. 21 via photograph
- March 8 via photograph
- March 28 via video
- April 15 via photograph
- April 21 via video
- April 24 via photograph
- April 21 via photograph
- May 1 via photograph
2025 also marked a historic moment for researchers, as cougar cubs were spotted in Michigan for the first time in 100 years. Back in March 2025, state biologists confirmed photos of two cubs taken by a resident on March 6, 2025.
Brian Roell, a large carnivore specialist for the DNR, said the Feb. 9 sighting of two cougars are believed to be of two different adults based on the timing and direction. They do not believe they were the cubs photographed last year in Ontonagon County.
All of the sightings were in the Upper Peninsula.
Roell said last year that the two cougar cubs could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the Western Great Lakes states – Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The two cubs were documented once again in December 2025, showing an adult cougar with two juvenile cougars that appeared to be around a year old.
