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 up in the U.P.

Young male cougars usually are forced to disperse from the region where they were born because the dominant male that holds that territory won’t tolerate any potential rivals and might even kill the younger cat.

But young females can find space closer, so usually aren’t driven to wander as far as their male siblings.

It made the odds long that one would cross three states to arrive in the Upper Peninsula, then manage to find one of the few others of her kind also roaming the region to conceive these cubs.

ONE OF TWO cougar cubs found and photographed March 6 on private land in Ontonagon County. This is the first time cougar cubs have been verified in the state since the big cats were hunted out of existence in Michigan in the early 1900s, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. (Photo provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

That says a lot about the quality of habitat in the U.P., said Brian Roell, wildlife biologist and large carnivore specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He’s the one who checked out the photographs from Ontonagon County that surfaced about a week ago on social media.

The worrisome part — and why Roell for now won’t characterize this as confirmation cougars are reproducing again in the state — is the mother was absent when the cubs were photographed March 6. Until they get concrete evidence, such as a photograph or DNA sample, he can’t say a female cougar is present in the U.P., even with the cubs as proof.

But what was more ominous is these cubs are far too young to be by themselves and out in the open.

Most prey species, by necessity, manage to be mobile almost from birth. They have to be able to flee at a speed that eludes predators.

Predators have the luxury of growing up more slowly — but that also makes them vulnerable in those early months, much more dependent on the mother’s skills and guidance to keep them fed and concealed from danger.

THE TWO COUGAR cubs found and photographed March 6 on private land in Ontonagon County. (Photo provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

To have the two cubs, thought to be 7 to 9 weeks old, turning up alone on a road seems like a bad sign, both for them and their mother.

But Roell did have a best-case scenario on what might have happened. The people who photographed the cubs said the pair appeared to be struggling to climb over the roadside snowpiles left by plowing from last week’s storm.

The cubs are about the right age to become more mobile. Roell suggested the mother might have been leading the cubs on the road, heard the truck and headed into the woods, only to find the cubs could not follow. He’s hopeful the female was concealed not far away and eventually came back to collect her young.

The photos show cubs that appear to be healthy, well fed and in good condition, so it’s unlikely they’d been alone for much time, even if something did happen to the female.

Roell went to the site Tuesday to confirm the photos were, indeed, taken on that road — the DNR regularly gets cougar photos submitted that claim to be local that turn out to be from out west. He admitted he initially thought these, too, might be a hoax before talking with the people who took them.

The DNR now has cameras there, plus three local property owners have trail cameras, Roell said. “If she’s in the area, I’ve got to think we’ll get her,” he said.

Roell does want to strongly discourage, however, the public trying to find the cubs or den site. The area is private property, so that would be trespassing. Cougars are an endangered species in Michigan as well, so highly protected, not just from hunting but harassment, including trying to locate their den. Too much human pressure might trigger the female to abandon the cubs, he warned.

If the three did reunite, the chances are high the cubs will survive to maturity, Roell said. Cougars make good mothers and the region has ample prey and cover. The cubs are a little early, so already had thrived even in winter conditions, Roell said.

The chatter about the cubs on social media has been intense, but Roell encourages everyone to take a step back and let this play out.

Also, take a moment to appreciate the region where we live, that has habitat with moose, wolves, lynx and cougars.

“It just kind of tells you,” Roell said, “how unique the Upper Peninsula is.”

*****

A short note that spring migration already has begun. Red-winged blackbirds made it back earlier in the week at Six Mile Lake, and Phyllis Carlson saw common grackles as well. Another person posted on Facebook seeing a sandhill crane fly over.

These early scouts might have company soon — Ryan Brady, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation biologist based in Ashland, posted a radar image on Facebook that showed a massive amount of movement northward.

While pine siskins are considered a winter finch, the first I’ve had at the feeders this winter showed up last week.

Spring officially starts Thursday.