Since 2008 there have been 55 confirmed reports of cougars in Michigan … Also known as pumas, panthers, mountain lions, cougar sightings remain extremely rare in Michigan. Cougars are native to Michigan but all but disappeared around the turn of the 20th century. They were extirpated from Indiana by the late 1800s. The male that made it to Connecticut likely went north through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Canada and then back into Connecticut from the north. The last time a wild cougar was legally taken in Michigan was in 1906 in the Upper Peninsula. DNR wildlife biologists hold that that mountain lions found in this region were "males looking to establish territories, dispersing from a population west of Michigan, east of the Rocky Mountains." The DNR maintains mountain lion sightings using a system to receive, record and review mountain lion reports. The last known wild cougar taken in the state occurred in 1906 near Newberry. Cougars, also called mountain lions, were originally native to Michigan, but were extirpated from Michigan around the turn of the century. Cougars, also called mountain lions, were originally native to Michigan, but were extirpated from Michigan around the turn of the century. Confirmed mountain lion sighting in Michigan’s UP (video) The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has verified that the above trail camera footage of what appears to be a cougar on a deer carcass is indeed authentic. The campus also has a Nittany Lion Shrine, featuring a large statue of a mountain lion on campus. According to the DNR, mountain lions went extinct from the state in the early 1900s, with the last one killed in the U.P. The mountain lion (Puma concolor) is sometimes called cougar, puma, catamount, and panther.Mountain lions once lived in much of the eastern United States. Many high schools also use the cougar as their sports team mascot. Mountain lion sightings in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are rare events (there’s no significant cougar population in the state), but one has been spotted prowling in … The last known wild cougar legally taken in the state occurred in 1906 near Newberry. The Sacramento Mountain Lions (2010–2012) of the United Football League used the California and southwestern United States regional name of the species. Map reproduced from LaRue et al. Figure 1 – Mountain lion range and confirmed sightings from 1990-2008. Michigan no longer has an established mountain lion population, however confirmed sightings are starting to become more frequent. 2012. There have been periodic reports of cougar sightings since that time from various locations in Michigan. in 1906.