By Cole Waterman
This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Read about Michigan’s booming bear population and the threat posed by feral hogs.
BAY CITY, MI — Black bears and feral hogs aren’t the only predatory species increasing in numbers throughout southern and central Michigan.
Cougars and wolves are likewise experiencing population surges, says said Dennis Fijalkowski, executive director for Bath-based Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, though the Michigan Department of Natural Resources disputes such a conclusion.
With wolves, people don’t necessarily need to fret, but they should be conscious and respectful of their presence.
“They’ve been in the northern Lower Peninsula for about 25 years,” Fijalkowski said. “They crossed the ice from the Upper Peninsula … a trapper shot one in a coyote trap back in ’04. They’re as far south as Roscommon County, and there have been a few reports, unconfirmed, all the way to the Indiana line.”
Despite their reputation for fearsomeness, wolves aren’t much of a threat to people, with Fijalkowski saying there have only been two documented cases of wolves attacking humans in North American history. Wolves are prone, however, to attack pets, Fijalkowski said.
The DNR doesn’t subscribe to Fijalkowski’s belief about the wolves’ range.
“There’s no wolves in the whole Lower Peninsula that we know of,” said Brian Roell, a DNR wildlife biologist. “I’m not saying they’re not there, just that we haven’t detected them. If they are there, they’re at a low level, but detection is very difficult. We could get that proof tomorrow.”
Reports of suspected wolves in the northern Lower Peninsula were proven by DNA testing to actually be coyotes, Roell said. Coyotes are prevalent throughout Michigan.
As with wolves, the presence of cougars in the Lower Peninsula is a subject for much debate among experts.
“We have not confirmed any (cougars) in the Lower Peninsula,” said Adam Bump, bear and furbear specialist with the Department of Natural Resources. “We’ve confirmed quite a few in the Upper Peninsula since 2008. We look at a lot of potential sightings and pictures taken in the Lower Peninsula, but we have not been able to verify them.”
Fijalkowski contests the DNR’s findings regarding cougar presence, or the lack thereof.
“They’ve been around since the ‘50s,” he said. “They followed the deer down from the UP. We’ve had many reports from Bay County and in and around the Thumb. They will benefit from the increasing wildness of southern Michigan.”
Fijalkowski attributes the cougar and wolf proliferation to them following prey.
“Any place you have a big deer population, you’re going to have cougars, and you’re going to have wolves in the future,” he said.