Sumpter Twp. Police issue warning on possible cougar sighting

The Sumpter Township Police Department was recently contacted by a property owner in the area of Sumpter and Kozma roads regarding a large feline that he had observed on his property three times since Nov. 1, 2016. Police issued a Nixel alert with the following information:
The property owner took a video of the feline during the November sighting and had a relatively close contact with it again just three days ago. He explained that he contacted the DNR about it possibly being a cougar, but was not satisfied with their response and decided to contact Sumpter Township Police.
Officers went to the property and were able to confirm that the layout of the land appears to positively match that in the video. Officers also measured the tall grass shown directly behind the cat as 7-8 feet tall (note: video was taken on Nov. 1, measurement taken on Jan. 14).
Sumpter Township Police reached out to a local exotic animal expert, who after viewing the video has confirmed the animal as a large feline; definitely not a house cat and possibly a cougar. He also believes that it’s probably illegally owned by a private individual and has escaped.
Based on the video and subsequent scene measurements the expert gives an approximate height of the feline at 2 ½ to 3 feet at the shoulder. He stresses that wild cougars have a range of 100 miles or more and could possibly be a threat, especially to other animals.
We note however that Sumpter Township has had no other reported sightings of the cat or any unexplained attacks on domestic or wild animals. We have reached out to the DNR and will post any new information to our Facebook page (Sumpter Township Police Department) as it becomes available.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sumpter Township Police at (734) 461-6898 (24-hour dispatch) or (734) 461-4833 (office – Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. only).