Scientific American shares that every calendar year has at least one month with a Friday the 13th, but no year has more than three. If you’re the superstitious type, buckle up because 2026 has three: February, March and November!
While most of the nation turns its eye towards Punxsutawney Phil, true Michiganders know there’s only one source for your winter woodchuck weathercast: Howell Nature Center’s own Woody the Woodchuck. Woody has been a fixture at the nature center since (at least) 2017 when I shared the photo from John Heinz Jr of lil Woody figuring out if something was or wasn’t food.
If you’re in the neighborhood, their free Groundhog Day Celebration is already underway, but you can also tune into their Facebook livestream that starts at 8:20 am!
The only places not under an Extreme Cold Warning are the Southeast corner of the state – from Saginaw and The Thumb down to Flint, Ann Arbor and Detroit, as well as the Lansing and Jackson area along the southern rim of Michigan. Those southern and eastern spots are under a Cold Weather Advisory, as the cold is not expected to be quite as severe there.
The Extreme Cold Warning now covers the Upper Peninsula – where wind chills could plummet to -45 degrees over the next couple of days – and all of Northern Michigan and West Michigan. This extreme warning covers Grand Rapids, Holland, Muskegon, Traverse City, Gaylord and the Tip of the Mitt, too.
That’s a big yikes from me! Brian took this when we were deep in the polar vortex of January of 2019 from the South Pier in Grand Haven. See his latest on Flickr and STAY WARM!
PS: If you want to tune into the current scene in Grand Haven, check out the Grand Haven South Pier Cam!
Are you looking for a summer job in the outdoors or do you know someone who is? The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is looking for new members for their 1,300 person team of summer park workers and spend the season in Michigan state parks, boating facilities, and other amazing outdoor spaces. You’ll welcome visitors, help campers, and keep our parks looking their best. With flexible scheduling, these positions are perfect for college students, teachers, retirees or anyone interested in working at Michigan state parks. Apply online today!
While you may not be able to hold three bear cubs like DNR worker in these photos, you might be able to! You’ll also be making the state better for everything that Michigan in Pictures is about, so if you do get a summer internship with the DNR and want to share a photo here every so often with a link to support you, just send me an email and we’ll work it out!
Ross took these shots of baby black bears being held during a bear den visit way back in April of 2014. See more in his awesome Wildlife gallery on Flickr and view & purchase his work at rossellet.com.
Another year is in the books for the Detroit Lions, and fans are once again left watching as the top teams head to the playoffs. Will 2026 be our year? True Lions fans know the answer is: probably not, but we will damn sure be ready to believe again 😉
The Detroit Zoo shared these photos at the end of December writing “Mamma Amirah cuddled up with her trio of cubs warm your winter heart. At five weeks old, we can now determine that she has two girls and one boy. Her cubs are healthy and growing fast – gaining almost a pound each in just four days! They have also started to venture out of the den to other spaces. Amirah is being a very attentive mother and seems eager to show off her cubs to the rest of the pride. Stay tuned for more lion cub love from the Detroit Zoo.“
More from Michigan zoos (including a baby gorilla) on Michigan in Pictures and you know I’m gonna compare cougar & lion cubs…
Nine months after two cougar kittens were documented in the Upper Peninsula, a new trail camera photo indicates the elusive animals are still alive and living with their mother.
…“This is a historic confirmation for Michigan since it is the first time in over 100 years that verified cougar reproduction has occurred east of the Mississippi River and possible even east of the Missouri River,” Roell said.
A private landowner sent the trail camera photo of the cougars to the DNR on Sunday, Dec. 14. Roell verified the site of the photo Monday and the DNR’s cougar team confirmed the photo Tuesday by enhancing the nighttime image to verify the existence of the three cougars. The sex of the kittens is unknown. Cougar kittens, or cubs, generally stay with their mother for about two years before venturing out on their own. “
The kittens’ chances of survival are actually pretty high because just like bears, cougars invest a lot of their energy into their young,” Roell said. “So these kittens will stay with their mom through this winter and possibly even into next winter. They already have a leg up, seeing as how they’ve been with her for a year now.”
A lot of people loved the cougar cub I shared last week, so I thought it would be neat for you all to see a bobkitten (aka bobcat kit). In addition to the fact that adult bobcats are sometimes confused for cougar (check the image compare below!), this is a great nonprofit to support on Giving Tuesday!
The Association to Rescue Critters (A.R.K.) shared a photo of North American Bobcat Patient 25-1428 who came to them with two broken legs, one of them a compound fracture. With the help of their wildlife rehab colleagues and their AMAZING Wildlife Veterinarian, this bobcat (who I am going to call Rufus) received his life-saving surgery and is now running on BOTH of his legs (click the photo for video proof)!
A.R.K. writes “Now that he (Rufus) is healed, it’s time for him to join the other FIVE juvenile bobcats we are overwintering this season. Together, they will learn to hunt, climb, cache, hide, and all of the other tools necessary for survival in the wild.“
North American Bobcats are medium-sized, nocturnal, solitary, felines that can be found over a wide range of our continent. Being highly adaptive, they occupy forests, swamps, deserts, grasslands, and even urban areas. They are carnivorous hunters but also opportunistic scavengers when possible. By regulating small mammal populations, they help maintain a balanced food web within our ecosystem and help prevent the spread of disease at the same time.
Once a year, the mother gives birth to 1-8 (typically 3) kits and raises them for 8-11 months. Once they are old enough to follow mom, the kits learn from her every move. Passing on all of her skills until it’s time for them to set out for their own territory.
A.R.K. adds that bobcat eats around 2 lbs of meat each day 😳 Thankfully, they have a dollar for dollar donation match up to $7000 through December 31st if you want to help out with the grocery bill. Click to learn more about the Association to Rescue Kritters of St. Helen, MI sure follow them on Facebook to see all the amazing animals they are helping!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This was originally shared on Leelanau.com & Michigan in Pictures concurs that there unquestionably are breeding cougar populations south of the Bridge. If you have seen one, please share in the comments here on on the Michigan in Pictures Facebook page!
The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirmed there have been 26 confirmed cougar sightings in Michigan so far this year, surpassing last year’s record by three … In a unique data point, those 26 cougar sightings this year in the U.P. added up to 27 animals because a pair of cougar cubs were spotted at the same time March 6 in Ontonagon County.
Here are some pics & info from the DNR’s Michigan Cougar page where you can also share photos & report cougar sightings!
Opening Day is Michigan’s largest unofficial holiday, generating a big chunk of the $2.3 billion dollars that hunting in Michigan brings in according to Pure Michigan. UpNorth Live shares that the 2025 Michigan deer hunting season starts tomorrow (Saturday, November 15) and runs through the 30th. They highlight the DNR’s Hunters Feeding Michigan program that lets hunters to donate deer to food pantries. Collection events happen November 21-23 and January 3-4. You can get all the info at the link!
Kevin took this 10 years ago. You can see his talent for wildlife photography in his excellent Animals gallery on Flickr.
“Somewhere in the north woods darkness a creature walks upright, and the best advice you may ever get is don’t go out at night.” -Steve Cook in The Legend of the Michigan Dogman
The Pacific Northwest has its Sasquatch, West Virginia has their Mothman, Jersey has their Devil, and we in the Great Lakes State have our Dogman, a fearsome werewolf-like beastie that purportedly roams the wilds of Northern Michigan. Discovery UK shares some of the Legend of the Michigan Dogman:
The first of the alleged Dog Man sightings in Michigan was in 1887, during a boom in US lumber production known as the great logging era, which roughly ran from 1870 to 1890. During this time, Michigan was its biggest producer of white pine lumber. Perhaps it’s therefore of little surprise that the initial influx of stories emerged then, with so many workers living and working in the woodlands in the area. The first of these is said to have taken place in 1887 in Wexford County, when a group of lumberjacks stumbled upon a creature they described as having the body of a man and the head of a dog. Its piercing eyes were either blue or yellow and its howl a terrifying scream.
1917: Four horses found dead, all with their eyes wide open. It’s said the examining vet believed they appeared scared to death.
1937: A victim of an attack by a pack of wild dogs claimed one of them walked on two legs.
1957: A newspaper report stated that claw marks found on a church door could only have been made by a creature reaching a height of 7”4.
1997: A farmer was found deceased at his plough from a heart attack, surrounded by dog tracks.
Unknown year: An army veteran claimed he saw the Dog Man of Michigan in Manistee National Forest, describing “a wolf head the size of my window” as the animal kept up with his truck travelling at 25 miles per hour. He also recalled it having sharp white teeth, three-inch long fangs, human-like hands some 14 inches across, black pointed ears, and yellow eyes.
Overall, Michigan Dogman stories often share common themes: a sinister canine visage, towering stature, and an unnerving ability to walk upright. What’s more, they all seemingly occurred in years ending in the number seven. This latter point has become a part of the mythos, with enthusiasts suggesting a possible ten-year cycle in the creature’s appearances.
Otisourcat originally shared this photo way back in 2008. Head over to their Flickr for the latest including some awesome shots of a raccoon on a snowman.
Some other Dogman related content you might enjoy includes this post on Michigan filmmaker Rich Brauer’s latest Dogman movie (third in his trilogy), the comprehensive Michigan Dogman entry in Wikipedia that relates the dogman is said to have been stalking the area around the Manistee River since the days when the Odawa tribes lived there, and of course Steve Cook’s song that “started” (or restarted) it all. Enjoy the song, but know that although author Steve Cook loves to claim he started the legend, it has been around for generations.
Michigan in Pictures 