# Dad Saw cougar



## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

safetreehunt said:


> I know the area that yoopernut is talking about fairly well. This is some of the best deer hunting area in all of Iosco County. While a lot of the property is near the Gypsum mine, most is really quite huntable.
> 
> This is the first I have heard of a cougar in the area. I do know that there are a lot of bobcats around all of the county and am wondering if that's what he really saw. Some of those kitty's get pretty darn big looking when you see them in the woods. I've seen lots over the years and they've given me a bit a spook as well. They're certainly ornery enough. If it was really a cougar, that would be so cool to see and I'll be keeping watch around our camp which is within a few short miles of there.


my first reply to her was "you sure it wasn't just a big bobcat" and she replied with "do bobcats have 4' tales?" 

this girl is highly educated in animals (msu and colorado state). Stepdad is setting up trail cams on his property now to try to get them on the trailcam.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Swamp Monster said:


> No, it's not really that unbelievable at all. But none of the above is proof of anything now is it? How many Cougars has a vet in Michigna dealt with? Farm animals and domesticated animals, lots of experience, but wildlife? Maybe lots, maybe none, I don't know. After seeing cubs or kittens, was the DNR notified? ( or did the call go directly to the MWC :lol: ) If this was recent, why not get on the horn and get the DNR out to the area to look for a den etc? People think it is a big deal...it's not like a I saw three Cougars today, just another nice afternoon on my back 40....it's a big deal!
> 
> I'm just tired of the "see I told you so!" attitude when they are saying absolutely zilch! I say put up or shut up...so have many others yet here we are again!


biologist that has a history of confirming sightings with the MDNR was notified. This vet got most of her degree (masters) from colorado. She has lived out west for the last 8 or more years. She's not a flatlander.


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## QuakrTrakr (Apr 4, 2001)

shady oaks said:


> so if they don't exist in michigan, it must not be illegal to shoot them in michigan, right?


Can't shoot what doesn't exist! :lol: For Gods sake, somebody SHOOT one just to end this topic!!!!


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## Adam Waszak (Apr 12, 2004)

QuakrTrakr said:


> Can't shoot what doesn't exist! :lol: For Gods sake, somebody SHOOT one just to end this topic!!!!



That would be a very big mistake and land you in deep Sh!1

AW


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## QuakrTrakr (Apr 4, 2001)

Adam Waszak said:


> That would be a very big mistake and land you in deep Sh!1
> 
> AW


Why? They aren't protected in Michigan.


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## msb (Apr 25, 2005)

That cougars are in Michigan. Sleeping bear sand dunes have a notice to watch for them. http://www.freep.com/sports/outdoors/eric20_20031120.htm

I got this link from the DNR website.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,%207-153-10371_10402-109757--M_2005_2,00.html

Most groups say these are "pets" released into the wild but if I owned one,I would sell it to make my money back from it. Wolverines in Mi., wolves in the L.P.? Deer running around in the city of Detroit? It happens..... why not cougars having a small population in Michigan? I know someone that seen one up in Rogers City. I believe..........


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

msb said:


> That cougars are in Michigan. Sleeping bear sand dunes have a notice to watch for them. http://www.freep.com/sports/outdoors/eric20_20031120.htm
> 
> I got this link from the DNR website.
> 
> ...


thx for posting that link, it gives the name of the biologist that i know in that first news article. I was afraid to publicly give it out because I don't know how much of what he is researching is public.

taken from the article:
_*
Dr. Pat Rusz has collected cougar DNA evidence around the state for a couple of years, and DNA analysis of the scat shows that cougars are prowling several counties in the Upper and Lower peninsulas. While an accurate assessment is impossible without much more field work, Rusz's educated guess is that the state probably has a few dozen of the big cats, mostly in the northern Lower Peninsula and the UP. * _


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## mal (Feb 18, 2002)

at our camp in baraga county this summer i made an interesting discovery. i took an atv ride with another guy back about two miles from the camp to a secluded haymarsh to take some scenic photos. when we got back there at the end of the trail at the marsh, we both smelled death...roadkill type smell. we looked around and found under a pine tree a small stash of dead partially eaten critters, mostly bones...most were muskrats, one of which was partially eaten and fresh (still wet) and bloody...the strange thing though was in that pile of critters was a large dead coyote, probably 40-50 pounds. would take something large to kill that coyote...and the coyote was not eaten at all. seemed like maybe something had killed it to claim stake to its hunting spot.

sound like a cougar? maybe a wolf?


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## QuakrTrakr (Apr 4, 2001)

mal said:


> at our camp in baraga county this summer i made an interesting discovery. i took an atv ride with another guy back about two miles from the camp to a secluded haymarsh to take some scenic photos. when we got back there at the end of the trail at the marsh, we both smelled death...roadkill type smell. we looked around and found under a pine tree a small stash of dead partially eaten critters, mostly bones...most were muskrats, one of which was partially eaten and fresh (still wet) and bloody...the strange thing though was in that pile of critters was a large dead coyote, probably 40-50 pounds. would take something large to kill that coyote...and the coyote was not eaten at all. seemed like maybe something had killed it to claim stake to its hunting spot.
> 
> sound like a cougar? maybe a wolf?


Wolves kill coyotes regularly. I bet it was an eerie feeling!


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## slowpoke (Jan 30, 2001)

mal said:


> at our camp in baraga county this summer i made an interesting discovery. i took an atv ride with another guy back about two miles from the camp to a secluded haymarsh to take some scenic photos. when we got back there at the end of the trail at the marsh, we both smelled death...roadkill type smell. we looked around and found under a pine tree a small stash of dead partially eaten critters, mostly bones...most were muskrats, one of which was partially eaten and fresh (still wet) and bloody...the strange thing though was in that pile of critters was a large dead coyote, probably 40-50 pounds. would take something large to kill that coyote...and the coyote was not eaten at all. seemed like maybe something had killed it to claim stake to its hunting spot.
> 
> sound like a cougar? maybe a wolf?


Sounds like a very good place to set a trail camera.


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## weatherby (Mar 26, 2001)

Ed Michrina said:


> Kinda makes you want to get a bigger flashlight :yikes: Very cool .



ya got that right. I know of one that has been seen often north of Lanse in da UP


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## Fabian Suarez (Oct 16, 2005)

to see a cougar some day. I actually saw my first very large bobcat last year just as i was about to climb down during gun season. This was in Mason county at my buddy's property. This bobcat alone looked pretty serious to me and the scary thing was i was able to follow its tracks right to the house within 50 yards and he wasn't too scared to get that close to a house!


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## QuakrTrakr (Apr 4, 2001)

My uncle used to live by Petoskey. He had a bobcat on his back deck one winter. He was bbq-ing and went inside for a couple of minutes just to look at the cat through the patio door. coool


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

My buddy Emailed me this pic of a Cougar he got on his trail cam. He wouldn't say what county it was in, but said it was the northern LP. :lol:


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## Burksee (Jan 15, 2003)

ESOX said:


> My buddy Emailed me this pic of a Cougar he got on his trail cam. He wouldn't say what county it was in, but said it was the northern LP. :lol:


I swear thats may be the same Cougar I saw recently! It was in Presque Isle county, it was *"feeding"* at the BP station on US-23 near Grand Lake! :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## BugSlugger (Sep 30, 2004)

DNA confirm Michigan cougar Associated Press  Feb. 7, 2005



LANSING, Mich.  DNA testing has confirmed that a large cat struck by a vehicle last year was a cougar, but it remains unclear whether Michigan has an established population of wildcats, a state wildlife official said recently. 






A motorist reported hitting "a large cat" in southern Menominee County on November 2, 2004. The driver turned over hair samples collected from the bumper to biologists at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources field office in Escanaba. 





The samples were forwarded to the Wildlife Division's pathology lab, then sent to Central Michigan University for analysis. 





"This is exactly the kind of information we are looking for to gain a better understanding of what animals are present in Michigan and identify potential areas for additional work," said Ray Rustem, the DNR's natural heritage unit supervisor. 





Even so, he said, the test result "still does not confirm the presence of a breeding population in Michigan." 



The nonprofit Michigan Wildlife Conservancy contends there is such a population and has been trying to document it for several years. DNR officials say even if people occasionally spot cougars, the animals might be just passing through or could be pets that were released into the wild.


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

Quakrtrakr,
cougars not protected!? they are an endangered species, you kill one and someone finds out, you are in a bit of trouble.
and to anyone else who is telling people to shut up about the cougars, if you dont like it, dont read it, maybe some people are interested in reading this stuff. sure it is repetative but it is fun and interesting to some. there is no harm in any of it. i would say most sightings are either mistaken identity or outright hoaxes, but not all. everyone has something to say about people not having outright proof but im sure there is more to back up their exhistence than to rule it out.


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## QuakrTrakr (Apr 4, 2001)

FishMich
I didn't check any facts, I wanted to get a response from the forum.(being lazy). AND, it's not that I don't like hearing the stories (that's why I'm posting right now), we hear alot of the stories from the same people over and over. I didn't mean to start a spitting match. One of my properties I hunt isn't too far from Alabaster, so it's got me looking.


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

msb said:


> That cougars are in Michigan. Sleeping bear sand dunes have a notice to watch for them. http://www.freep.com/sports/outdoors/eric20_20031120.htm
> 
> I got this link from the DNR website.
> 
> ...



LMAO!!! Now a sign at sleeping bear dunes proves their are wild Cougars.....No wonder this isn't going anywhere when we are dealing with that type of mentality!


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> thx for posting that link, it gives the name of the biologist that i know in that first news article. I was afraid to publicly give it out because I don't know how much of what he is researching is public.
> 
> taken from the article:
> _*
> Dr. Pat Rusz has collected cougar DNA evidence around the state for a couple of years, and DNA analysis of the scat shows that cougars are prowling several counties in the Upper and Lower peninsulas. While an accurate assessment is impossible without much more field work, Rusz's educated guess is that the state probably has a few dozen of the big cats, mostly in the northern Lower Peninsula and the UP. * _



Say it ain't so!!!! Somehow, I knew that the guy he was referring to was named Pat! :lol: :lol: And somehow I knew he had ties to the MWC! :lol: :lol: 

Damn, and I actually thought that maybe this time there was some proof, but all we get is the same combo Rusz/MWC

Apparantly this is the first Cougar thread on this site that Shiawassee Kid as read.


Aw well, the debate continues I guess.......


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