"Warning Hikers You are in Mountain Lion Country" Sign Aluminum New Michigan DNR DL
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"Warning Hikers You are in Mountain Lion Country" Sign DL New Aluminum Michigan DNR. 12 x 18" Heavy Aluminum. Perfect For That Cottage, Den, Man Cave, Garage.
From Michigan DNR Site:
General Cougar Questions1.
Is there a population of wild cougars in Michigan?
Cougars, also called mountain lions, were originally native to Michigan, but were extirpated from Michigan around the turn of the century. The last known wild cougar taken in the state occurred in 1906 near Newberry. There have been periodic reports of cougar sightings since that time from various locations in Michigan. This situation is not unique to Michigan, and has been occurring in many other mid-western and eastern states as well.
In 2004, a hair sample was collected from a vehicle bumper and tested using DNA analysis. That sample was positively identified as cougar.
A recent study based on DNA analysis of scat samples was conducted by Central Michigan University and the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy. That study showed that samples from eight locations tested as positive as cougars.
2. Are cougar sightings by themselves evidence that cougars are here?
No. Most state wildlife agencies, including the Michigan DNR, rely on physical evidence such as carcasses, DNA evidence, tracks, photos, and other sign verified by experts to document the presence of cougars.
3. Is the DNR conducting surveys for cougars in Michigan?
The Wildlife Division conducts annual winter track surveys for wolves and other furbearers covering thousands of miles of roads and trails in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. These surveys have a high likelihood of detecting cougars if a population existed in those areas.
4. If cougars are here, where did they come from?
Based on documented evidence, cougars observed in Michigan could be escaped or released pets. Or, they could be transient or dispersing cougars from the nearest known breeding populations in North and South Dakota. These populations are over 900 miles from Michigan. During the winter of 2004-2005, the National Park Service conducted road and trail surveys and trail camera surveillance designed to detect cougars in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. No evidence of cougars was found.
5. Did the DNR release cougars into the wild in Michigan?
The DNR has never released cougars in Michigan, and has no plans to do so.
6. Is the cougar endangered in Michigan?
The species in Michigan is listed as endangered and is protected under state law.
7. Are there pet cougars or exotic big cats like leopards and African lions in Michigan?
A few people who owned cougars or large cats prior to 2000 are still permitted to own these animals. It has been illegal to own a cougar or large exotic cats such as African lions, leopards, and jaguars, in Michigan since 2000. No new permits are being issued. The DNR occasionally receives reports of illegally owned large pet cats including cougars, and has confiscated these animals. It is possible that escaped or released pet cougars account for at least a portion of the sightings in Michigan.
8. Can cougars be black?
There is no scientific documentation that a black color phase exists in cougars in North America. Several species of the larger spotted cats (leopard and jaguars) do have black color phases. An exotic cat called a jaguarundi, which looks somewhat similar to a cougar -- just a smaller size, has a black phase.
"Warning Hikers You are in Mountain Lion Country" Sign DL New Aluminum Michigan DNR. 12 x 18"Heavy Aluminum. Perfect For That Cottage, Den, Man Cave, Garage.
From the iNTERNET
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cougars, also called mountain lions, were once the most widely distributed land animal in the Western Hemisphere, but have been eliminated from about two-thirds of their historic range.
The DNR says at one time, cougars lived in every eastern state in a variety of habitats, including coastal marshes, mountains and forests.
Cougars were native to Michigan at one point, but they were extirpated from the state around the beginning of the 20th century.
Since 2008, the DNR has confirmed 31 cougar reports in the Upper Peninsula, but so far there remains no evidence confirmed of a breeding population.
One of the two cougars on display at the "Fact Shack" at Tahquamenon Falls State Park was donated by the GarLyn Zoo. The cougar died of natural causes.
The second cougar can be seen at the DNR's Newberry customer service center, located off M-123 south of Newberry. This cougar was received by the DNR at the close of a poaching case in Schoolcraft County.
During the 2013 muzzle-loader deer hunting season in the Upper Peninsula, conservation officers received a tip that a cougar had been killed at a hunting camp near Seney.
"The investigation revealed the animal was shot and wounded with a rifle when it entered a field near the camp," said DNR Sgt. Mike Hammill. "The following day, the cougar was tracked down and killed by one of the suspects."
Hammill said that as a part of the sentence, the shooter was required to pay the cost of having the animal mounted.
All of Michigan's verified cougar reports have come from the Upper Peninsula, where 12 of the region's 15 counties have had reports.
Marquette County has led the confirmed cougar reports with six; Menominee County has had four; Houghton, Delta and Mackinac counties have had three each, while Baraga, Chippewa, Luce, Schoolcraft and Ontonagon counties have each had two and Keweenaw and Dickinson have had one each.
"Within the last decade, numerous cougar sighting reports have been received from various locations in Michigan and are investigated by DNR Wildlife Division's cougar team," said Kevin Swanson, a DNR wildlife biologist in Marquette.
The most recent confirmed mountain lion report occurred in September with DNR verification of a trail-camera image in Dickinson County.
"This situation is not unique to Michigan, but has been occurring in many other Midwestern and eastern states as young males disperse from core range areas in the western United States," Swanson said.
The DNR says out of the 31 confirmed sightings, 21 included photos, eight were tracks, one was video and scat and the remaining confirmed report was that of the cougar poached near Seney in Schoolcraft County in 2013.
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