Cougar suspected in death of local horse

This is evidence of the Wildlands Project, rewilding my local area. This article comes from my local paper. My wife and I spent a while out behind our house, looking at cougar tracks that lead back into the woods. It's my children I fear for the most. How can we let them play outside?

-Darren Weeks

By Pat Rombyer
Jackson Citizen Patriot

Wendy Chamberlain braked her car and stared -- staring back at her was a full grown cougar, standing in the middle of Callahan Road.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," she said Friday, rubbing away the goosebumps on her arm.

The sighting occurred Thursday morning, the day after a horse was killed in Parma Township, the victim of a cougar attack.

As the Parma Township supervisor watched in stunned silence, the large cat lumbered slowly off the road and disappeared into the weeds. It only added to her concern. "There's a cougar and people need to know," she said.

There have been five reported cougar sightings in Jackson County in recent weeks, county animal control officers said.

Patrick Rusz, director of wildlife programs at the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy who has been researching cougars in Michigan for the past six years, said Michigan's habitat and large deer population make it a natural place for cougars.

Rusz came to Parma Township Friday to investigate the horse's death. He had the body exhumed and examined the bite marks and other injuries.

"It was classic cougar," Rusz said, explaining that the 26-year-old registered Arabian died from a bite at the base of the skull. The horse had numerous other puncture marks on the head and neck from the cougar's 21/2-inch fangs.

"It was as neat a case as I've ever seen," he said.

Machelle Dunlap, an officer at the Jackson County Animal Control, was the first to suspect a cougar when she was called to the farm on Wednesday.

"The owner thought maybe it had been shot, which would be a cruelty case," she said.

Family members told her their dog began barking incessantly at about 1:30 a.m. and they could hear their horses whinnying, Dunlap said.

The family's name is not being released to avoid attracting sightseers or hunters who may try and capture the wild animal.

Cougars are protected under the Endangered Species Act and may not be killed without a special permit.

Once she ruled out gunshots or other wild animals as the cause of death, Dunlap contacted Rusz, who confirmed her suspicions.

Dunlap, Chamberlain and a Michigan state trooper also explored the area off Callahan Road where Chamberlain saw the cougar. It was a little more than a mile from where the horse was killed.

They found prints, smelled urine and found a utility pole that appeared to have been used as a scratching post by the cat.