Scientists confirmed on Wednesday that a pair of wild cat cubs spotted on March 6 by a couple of Yooper motorists in Ontonagon County were cougars, approximately 7 to 9 weeks old. Officials said this is the first time cougar cubs have been verified since the big cats were hunted out of existence in Michigan in the early 1900s.

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.