The news Thursday that cougar cubs had turned up in the Upper Peninsula — Michigan’s first confirmed wild cubs in more than a century — sparked both elation and worry. The elation came that a female cougar may have actually made the 900-plus-miles journey from most likely the Black Hills of South Dakota to end

For the first time in more than a century, cougar cubs have been spotted living in the Michigan wild. On Wednesday, state biologists confirmed two cougar cubs were on private land in Ontonagon County in the western Upper Peninsula. The cubs were verified by photographs taken by a resident on March 6, who photographed the cubs with their mother.

The 7- to 9-week-old cubs were found on private land in Ontonagon County in the western Upper Peninsula. A local residents photographed them.