Two mountain lion cubs have been photographed in Michigan, a state the place the massive cats have been hunted to close extinction and their younger haven’t been seen within the wild in over 100 years.
Pictures confirmed the noticed cats, solely slightly bigger than a home cat, strolling alongside a roadside, peering cautiously on the digicam from behind the wheel of a automobile with claws unsheathed and hunkering down within the snow with their ears down, a warning signal.
Brian Roell, wildlife biologist and Michigan’s massive carnivore specialist, mentioned cubs haven’t been noticed in Michigan, Wisconsin or Minnesota in a century.
There have been 133 sightings of the animal since 2008, all in Michigan’s higher peninsula and by no means in teams of greater than two at a time, in keeping with DNR information. The division mentioned these cats come from different states, just like the Dakotas, as adults. In some instances, captive cougars escape and make the listing.
Roell mentioned proof of a breeding pair within the wild is an efficient signal for the species, which is protected below state legislation.
“It’s something that should be celebrated, that we have the habitat to support an elusive animal like this,” Roell mentioned.
Their mom was not seen alongside them, and the cubs haven’t been seen since. Wildlife officers mentioned that might be trigger for concern, as a result of cubs are very depending on their moms.
“Those young cougars are very vulnerable right now,” Roell mentioned. “We don’t know where they are or if they’re even alive. Mother Nature can be very cruel.”
The absence of mountain lions in Michigan may make some really feel safer, but it surely’s performed havoc with the native ecosystem. Bridge Michigan reported in 2023 that the state’s deer inhabitants has grown unsustainably massive, working wild from an absence of pure predators, fewer human hunters and warming winters on account of local weather change.
“But humans long ago eradicated wolves and cougars from most of the state,” Bridge Michigan reported. “Other predators, such as bears and bobcats, are also relatively rare in southern Michigan.”
