ESCANABA – There have been 22 confirmed cougar sightings in the Upper Peninsula although DNR Wildlife Biologist Brian Roell says several of the sightings were probably of the same animal. That’s the case with two recent sightings in Marquette County.

He told a group at Bay College in Escanaba Thursday that despite the number of cougar sightings in the U.P., they do not seem to be settling here.

“The possibility is there. We certainly have the habitat that can support them but you also have to remember that cats have very large territories. To have cougars of any sizable number of a population is very unlikely for Michigan. We’re a small peninsula when it comes to cats,” Roell said

Roell says there is no evidence of cougars breeding in the U.P. and they are a long way from having enough cougars in the U.P. to develop a management plan for the animals.