For the first time since 2008, the Michigan DNR has caught a cougar on camera in the Upper Peninsula.

According to a report from the DNR, the cougar was spotted in Gogebic County, about 9 miles north of Ironwood at 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 1.

The camera is set up as part of a deer movement study. The DNR has confirmed 38 cougar sightings in Michigan in the past ten years, 37 of which were in the U.P. They say it's likely the same cougars spotted multiple times, not 38 individual animals.

According to the DNR:

So far, there remains no conclusive evidence of a Michigan breeding population of mountain lions. "

It's believed that cougars found in the Upper Peninsula are males coming from populations in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska that are looking to establish new territories.

At one time, cougars were native Michigan, but after hunting and trapping eliminated them, cougars are now endangered and protected under state law.

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