The Michigan DNR recently verified this November 2012 trail camera photo of a cougar in northern Marquette County.
DNR photo
MENOMINEE — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has verified three recent photos of cougars taken by trail cameras in the Upper Peninsula.
The DNR said Wednesday that two of the photos were taken in October in Menominee County, and the third picture was from Marquette County in November.
The Menominee County shots showed a cougar with a radio collar, while the cougar in Marquette County didn't have one.
The DNR doesn't put radio collars on cougars. It says North Dakota and South Dakota are the nearest states where wildlife researchers have placed radio collars on cougars to track their movement.
The DNR hasn't been able to determine the origin of the radio-collared cougar that's in Michigan.
It has verified the presence of cougars in the U.P. 20 times since 2008.
Last spring, several Ann Arbor residents reported sighting what they believed to be cougars on the University of Michigan's North Campus and near the Leslie Woods Nature Area at the intersection of Traverwood Drive and Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor.