A TRAIL CAMERA PHOTO of a cougar taken Sept. 18 in northern Delta County. (Michael Hilliard photo)

MARQUETTE — Two more photos of cougars have been confirmed in recent weeks in the Upper Peninsula, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reports.

The trail camera photos were taken in northern Delta County on Sept. 18 and in southern Marquette County on Oct. 6. The two sites are about14 miles apart, the DNR cougar team stated in a post on the Michigan DNR Facebook page.

It brings the number of verified cougar sightings in Michigan since 2008 to 43, five of them coming this year. All but one were in the Upper Peninsula.

The reports could include multiple sightings of the same animal, the DNR acknowledged. Researchers still have no firm evidence of a breeding population in the state.