Michigan sees record cougar reports in 2025, including some cubs(ASSOCIATED PRESS) – Sources from Associated Press say cougars were detected 31 times in Michigan in 2025, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. This year, cougar cubs were discovered in the state, which means at least one cougar family is raising babies in Michigan. For decades, there were no confirmed cougar reports in Michigan. That changed in 2008, when the DNR confirmed cougar paw prints in the UP, followed by two other observations, also verified by tracks, later that year. That changed early last year, when two cougar cubs were spotted by a motorist in Ontonagon County in March.