On the prowl: 21 confirmed cougar sightings in Michigan this year

There have been 21 confirmed cougar sightings in 2025, according to data from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR maintains a database of confirmed cougar sightings, which shows at least one sighting in every month but August.

A majority of the sightings have been in the Western Upper Peninsula, and the DNR does note that some cougar sightings may be of the same animal by different people who are nearby to one another.

There has also been a confirmed sighting near Paradise and one near Munising. Three of the sightings were on video and 18 were through photographs.

Michigan DNR

In March, a pair of cougar cubs was spotted in the U.P. It was the first time juvenile cougars were seen in Michigan in more than a century.

Michigan

Cougar cubs spotted in western UP likely first born in Michigan in a century

Zac Harmon

All other verified cougar sightings in Michigan have been adult males.

The dates of the 2025 sightings have been:

• January 14
• January 17
• January 18
• January 27
• February 19
• February 25
• February 26
• March 6
• March 12
• March 15
• March 31
• April 15
• April 22
• May 15
• May 23
• June 16
• July 24
• July 27
• September 1
• September 21

Here are the number of confirmed cougar sightings by year dating back to 2020, according to DNR data.

• 2024 - 23
• 2023 - 18
• 2022 - 15
• 2021 - 14
• 2020 - 15