The Michigan Wildlife Conservancy claims to have evidence that cougars still live and breed in Michigan.

Some cougars were reportedly spotted in Monroe County's Whiteford Township by a farmer and an Ohio woman, who filmed what appeared to be a female and her cub prowling near the state line.

COUGARS See Cougar Videos

Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials question whether the animals are cougars, but members of the conservancy are convinced that the video is proof, according to a story from The Monroe Evening News.

"They can only be cougars," Dennis Fijalkowski, director of the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, told the paper. "We have a wild breeding population in Michigan."

MWC released the tape Monday after extensively researching the sighting to determine the cats on the tape are in fact cougars, the paper reported.

Fijalkowski told the paper he believes one of the cats on the tape is a 6-foot-6-inch female and the other is a 5-foot-6-inch cub.

Officials with the Michigan DNR, who have viewed the tape, told the paper it does not prove that cougars are living and breeding in Monroe County.

"It's an interesting tape," press secretary Brad Wurfel told the paper. "They look like blurry, tawny felines. It's not conclusive."

Wurfel told the paper the DNR would like to have scientists look at the tape and make their own determination.

Officials from MWC claim the cougars are not pets and that a segment of cougar population is migrating from the West, the paper reported.

According to the MWC's Web site, most people believe the state's last cougar was killed in the early 1900s.

MWC researchers say they have found cougar DNA in feces from seven Michigan counties. The conservancy added that they have documented evidence of cougars from several other sites, including tracks, photos, videotape and sightings by researchers.

Cougars usually live in areas with plentiful deer and adequate cover -- which can include subdivisions and adequate cover, according to the conservancy.