[scorpiosnpit]

I live in northern lower mi in a very rural town with tons of woods around. There are alot of bobcats, coyotes, badgers, and bleack bears, but I've never heard of anyone around here ever being attacked by any. I've lived here my whole life and never had any problems with my pets or heard of anyone having problems. If you are moving way out in the middle of the woods, I would keep an eye on smalll animals like cats and such but I wouldn't worry much. The animal pretty much keep to themselves and don't come around.

[100%Michigan]

I had a friend who claim to have seen a cougar, knew it was a cougar by the tail and face. Besides that, I have seen a wolf myself. No it wasnt a coyote... it was a wolf and yes it was lower Michigan.

[PureMichigander]

I have lived in MI my entire life. I work at a vets office and I assist wildlife rehabbers. I do not care what the DNR claims to be true, there are cougars in lower MI. I have seen them with my own two eyes. If the DNR admits they are here, it's gonna cost them for protection efforts and what not, so just continue on making people feel like asses. They may have, at one point in time been someones pet, but if so, a lot of people have let them loose aparently, and now they are makin babies. Comparing cougar sightings to ufo sighting is down right stupid because we all know cougars exsist and I bet a 5 year old know what one looks like so why is it so hard to fathum that they are in MI

[zakian]

Cougars/Cyoties are warm weather.
Not cold.
"Similar in size."
So are my girls feet.
I could tell you it was a Sasquatch and have the same credibility.

[Cliffie]

I hear more and more about the wildlife coming in to take over. Cougars, coyotes, feral pigs lately and now even a news article on bobcats. I wonder if they know something we don't?

And let us never forget the spectral Novi Panther!

[sunshineann]

Holy cow !!.....I never thought about the wild animals before i moved here...Im outside of TC. Oh well....i love Michigan im not going anywhere...Where does someone go to learn about these animals?

[YAZ]

Originally Posted by sunshineann

Holy cow !!.....I never thought about the wild animals before i moved here...Im outside of TC. Oh well....i love Michigan im not going anywhere...Where does someone go to learn about these animals?

Ya go to the woods, ya silly goose.

[sunshineann]

lol..I didnt mean learn about them up close and personal..lol I probably should not have watched that show last week, where this women was riding a bike on a bike trail..granted it wasnt in michigan..and she was attacked by a cat of some sort....Now i really wanna run out and start walking and riding the trails..lolol.

[ASSE - Bob]

A fella in Ellsworth, near SnowFlake in Charlevoix, had a pet cougar for several years. His entire house is caged in with a huge fence. Other than that, I never saw one up there. Lived in the area for nearly 22 years.

My dad did shoot a bobcat a couple years back though. As far as I am aware, the only other bobcat sighting around us was out at Grass River Natural Area near Bellaire.

As for the bear - I only saw one. And he was gone right quick. Dad started hunting them a couple years back, so I've seen a couple pics of dinner before dining. They were pretty active in the area, you just never saw them. Very skiddish critters.

An old boss of mine in Bellaire has a wolf for a pet. Not sure how he pulled that off, but he's got a few hundred acres in the Jordan Valley. Got a large area - nearly 40 acres - fenced in so that his buddy can still roam an do his natural thing but it keeps him domesticated enough so that he is sociable with him and his family. One spooky animal - he'll scare the life out of you with just his glare. I never got in the fence with him. Probably a smart move. he he he...

[peacegirl12]

I go to school in the UP and I work at a summer camp in NE lower Michigan, so I see my share of wildlife. Last summer alone I saw deer, coyotes, black bears WITH cubs!, a bobcat, beavers, a fox, and some kind of minx, weasel-looking animal, so yes, wildlife we have! But I wouldn't worry about any of those guys, you have bigger fish to fry. A couple of years ago, a moose waltzed onto campus, caught sight of its own reflection in the laundry room window of the dorm across from mine, and proceeded to charge the window and smash its head into it! The moose was then escorted off campus by public safety officers and scolded for causing such a ruckus, the moose later apologized. (The last bit is, of course, a joke, the rest is true).

We have hundreds of kids at our camp in the summer, along with that menagerie of animals I mentioned before, and have never had a problem, just a lot of teaching moments. In my experience, people who have negative encounters with wildlife, simply don't know what they're doing. A little education goes a long way people.

As for everyone thats mentioned cougar sightings in the LP, I too, SWEAR we have them! I found some tracks this summer that I am convinced were cougar tracks. I'm pretty good with animal tracks, at least with larger mammals. Its pretty easy to tell k9 tracks from feline tracks, and these were definitely feline but WAY to huge to be a bobcat! They were so clear; on a sandy, dirt road. So far I haven't been able to convince many people, but I try.

Peacegirl12