REGIONAL — Researchers with the Voyageurs Wolf Project have documented cougar reproduction in northern Minnesota for the first time in more than 100 years. Video shot in late March as part of the research team’s ongoing study of wolves and deer in and around Voyageurs National Park captured roughly four hours of footage showing an adult female cougar and three kittens interacting near a recent deer kill.
While glimpses of cougars on trail cameras in northern Minnesota aren’t as rare as they used to be, they’ve been believed to be mostly male wanderers from western states. There’s been no convincing evidence to date that these large native cats might actually be breeding in the state— at least until now.
“We were quite frankly astounded by it,” said Tom Gable, lead researcher on the Voyageurs Wolf Project. The high-quality video shows the kittens up close, both feeding and interacting with one another and their mother. “Looking at the footage was and still is surreal,” said Gable. “We never anticipated seeing four cougars together in northern Minnesota. In total, we captured around four hours of footage of this cougar family at the kill, and it was fascinating to see and hear their interactions — the mother grooming her kittens, the kittens growling and hissing at each other. We feel incredibly fortunate we were able to capture such a wild moment in such detail.”
It wasn’t just luck, however, that led to the discovery. As part of their ongoing research, the team has been GPS collaring white-tailed deer in part to determine causes of mortality. In this case, one of their collared deer appears to have been killed by the cougars, and when Shawn Johnson, a member of the research team, responded to the mortality signal from the collar, he found remains of the deer partially buried. That’s a behavior that’s rare in wolves but common among feline predators. So, Johnson placed two cameras at the site and recorded footage of the cougars shortly afterward.
The Voyageurs Wolf Project has deployed hundreds of trail cameras in northeast Minnesota to help with wolf research. Those cameras have recorded footage of lone cougars eight times since 2023, but none of those cameras had recorded footage of kittens.
“Based on traits observed in the video, we estimate the kittens to be 7-9 months old, so born last fall,” said John Erb, research biologist with the Minnesota DNR. “The only other confirmed kittens in Minnesota turned out to be captive escapees and involved a female with two kittens that showed up and hung around a homeowner’s porch in 2001.”
Cougars were native to Minnesota before being extirpated during European settlement. There hasn’t been evidence of reproduction for more than 100 years east of the Dakotas and Nebraska until a recent report from Michigan, which was a far more fleeting glimpse. The footage shot here in northern Minnesota appears to be the most definitive evidence recorded to date of cougar reproduction east of the Dakotas.
DNR officials note that the recent discovery does not, by itself, suggest the state has a viable breeding population of cougars.
“Although this is an important starting point for potential population establishment in Minnesota, predicting the future is extremely difficult,” Erb said. “These kittens might not survive, potentially getting killed by wolves, a male cougar, or vehicles. They may also become part of the founding catalyst for a slow but steady increase in numbers. Time will tell, but we are clearly nearing a point where the probability of a self-sustaining population has increased.”
The discovery has the Voyageur Wolf Project team planning to deploy more cameras to see if they can record other activity by the family of cougars. Unlike male cougars, who can wander long distances, female cougars are known to be strongly territorial, particularly when raising young. While their territories can be quite large (as much as 150 square miles) in areas with limited prey, territory sizes are likely smaller than that in Minnesota, where prey is relatively abundant.
Gable said the DNR was lending his team more trail cameras and that they plan to set up a grid pattern in the vicinity of the deer kill site in hopes of learning more about the cougars’ use of the area. Researchers are keeping the location of the deer kill site a secret but note that it is outside the boundaries of Voyageurs National Park. “It will be super interesting to see if we spot them again,” said Gable.
Based on habitat analysis from western states, Gable said he believes that all of his wolf study area would be considered quality habitat for cougars, but he notes that one documented reproductive event does not, by itself, indicate a breeding population. “If there were cougars breeding in significant numbers, we would probably have seen more evidence of it.”
The DNR points out that cougars are protected in Minnesota, with no open harvest season. Public safety officials can lethally take a cougar if it is determined to be an immediate threat to public safety, although that is unlikely. Cougars tend to avoid human contact or confrontation. Even in states with resident populations, cougars are rarely seen.
Funding for the University of Minnesota’s Voyageurs Wolf Project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.