Cougar sightings in the Detroit area !

[SUN RA KAT]

Oakland reports cougar sightings

Schools locked down near spots in Orion, Sumpter townships
October 6, 2004



BY FRANK WITSIL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER



A cougar hasn't been captured -- dead or alive -- in Michigan for nearly a century, but evidence is mounting that at least one might be on the prowl in the Detroit area, and experts said Tuesday it may be an exotic pet on the loose.


Cougars reportedly have been spotted this summer in Monroe and Macomb counties. Now, there are reports of big cat sightings in western Wayne and northern Oakland counties.


On Thursday, a Sumpter Township resident reported he came face-to-face with a cougar near his Harris Road home, Sumpter Township police said. Police officers didn't see the animal but photographed nearly a dozen paw prints left behind.


Fear took hold of some in the community. Two Sumpter Township elementary schools went into lockdown Thursday.


Since then, students at Elwell Elementary and Keystone Charter Academy have spent their recesses inside, and both schools are under a "cougar alert," principals said. The lockdown will remain until police say it is safe to go onto the playground.


"It's not as bad as a terror alert, but we don't want to take a chance with our kids' safety," Elwell Elementary principal Karen Mida said.


On Friday, a woman reported spying a cougar near her Orion Township home.


"This was the first we ever had anyone call and say they saw a cougar," said township administrative assistant Julie Savard.


On Tuesday, Lake Orion Village schools close to the scene of the second sighting also kept their students inside during recess. Carpenter, Orion Oaks, Paint Creek, Webber elementary schools and Waldon Middle School went on alert.


Later that afternoon, however, Lake Orion Public Schools Assistant Superintendent David Beiter concluded that there was no threat and that the call might have been a hoax or misunderstanding. The outdoor-recess ban will be lifted today.


Still, it is possible a cougar -- also known as a mountain lion, puma, panther or catamount -- is on the loose, said Larry Obrecht, the head of the Oakland County animal control department. "But you would think someone would catch it."


Obrecht also said it could be someone's pet that grew up and escaped.


In July, the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy released a video of what appeared to be two cougars in a Monroe County field. The video was made by a county resident a few miles from where other sightings were reported the year before.


In August, a landscaper in Sterling Heights spotted what appeared to be a cougar. It was seen in the grass gnawing on the carcass of a Canada goose. Police and animal control officers have been on the hunt for it since.


Ray Rustem, an endangered species specialist with the state Department of Natural Resources, said the last documented case of a cougar being caught or killed in the state was in 1909. Since then, there have been eyewitness accounts and photographs -- but no captures.


"From our standpoint, we don't believe there is a reproducing population in Michigan," Rustem said. "There may be some cougars out there, but we don't know anything about them. They might be pets that escaped or were released."


But, they still can be dangerous.


"What I tell people -- as with any encounter with any large animal -- is face toward the animal and back away slowly," he said, adding that the chance of meeting one in the wild is slim. "There have been reports of cougar sightings for years. It keeps the mystery alive."


Contact FRANK WITSIL at 248-351-3690 or witsil@freepress.com.