DNA testing conducted on cougars killed in the Upper Peninsula
Genetic testing on tissue samples from two cougars poached in the Upper Peninsula shows the two animals likely came from a population found generally in South Dakota, Wyoming and northwest Nebraska.”This genetic research lines up with what we’ve presumed previously, that cougars found in the Upper Peninsula are males dispersing from this population east of the Rocky Mountains,” said Kevin Swanson, a Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife management specialist with the agency’s Bear and Wolf Program. “These males dispersed from the main population are looking to establish new territories.”
Since 2008, the DNR has confirmed 35 cougar reports in the Upper Peninsula, but so far there remains noThe cougar shown was poached in Schoolcraft County in 2013. This is one of two male cougars the Michigan DNR sampled tissue from for genetic analysis. conclusive evidence of a breeding population. No reports have been confirmed from Lower Michigan.
Cougars are an endangered species in Michigan protected by law. Read more