Rare Video Captures Cougar Kill In MI

TOIVOLA, MI — The violence and majesty of a cougar mid-kill was recently captured on video in the Upper Peninsula.

The recording, posted Jan. 7 on Facebook by Eli Schaefer, shows the big cat as it pins a deer, its massive jaws wrapped around the animal’s neck. In a second video, also posted by Schaefer, the cougar drags its prey out of frame.

The attack occurred Dec. 30 in Toivola, according to Schaefer, who also captured a still image of a cougar in October.

“I was like, ‘oh my God, I was standing right there. That cougar could have just as easily jumped on me when I was checking a camera,’ ” Schaefer, who is 24 and attends Michigan Technological University, told WJMN.

The video is the first to show a cougar during a kill in Michigan, MLive reported.

“The chances of getting that, it’s just really remote,” Brian Roell, who is a wildlife biologist for the state’s Department of Natural Resources, told MLive.

Once native to Michigan, cougars were wiped out in the state around the early 1900s, according to the department, which said numerous sightings of the big cats have been reported in recent years, including two illegal harvests in the Upper Peninsula.

Cougars in Michigan today are believed to be young males dispersed from states further west, according to the department, which reports there have been 82 cougar sightings in 14 counties since 2008.

While the odds of encountering a cougar are low, if it does happen, people are advised to face the animal and stand tall while waving their arms and speaking loudly, according to the department. Don’t run, and fight back if attacked. Report the encounter to authorities as soon as possible.