DNR: Animal sighting unlikely to be a mountain lion

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says a recent social media post about a mountain lion sighting in Van Buren County is being investigated, but they believe it was unlikely to be a mountain lion or cougar.

A DNR employee went to the location where the sighting happened and took samples of scat.

First impressions of the scat indicate it is probably from a coyote, according to the DNR.

If genetic testing is done on the scat, it will take several weeks to get the results.

One DNR employee said over the last 10 years, there have been approximately a dozen reports of mountain lion/cougar sightings in southwest Michigan but none were substantiated.

The DNR added it is not impossible for a mountain lion or cougar to be in the lower peninsula, which is why they are looking into it.

One sighting in Lansing, Michigan, was substantiated in 2017. A picture of the animal helped substantiate the sighting.