So, Connecticut isn’t a cougar state after all, authorities say.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said Tuesday further investigation, including forensic testing on the carcass of a male cougar struck and killed by an SUV in Milford in June, originated in South Dakota.
State officials say they and other investigators have determined the big cat originated from the Black Hills region of South Dakota — some 1,500 miles away — and is the same animal whose movements were actually tracked and recorded as it made its way through Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Genetic tests also show that it is likely that the mountain lion killed when it was hit by a car June 11 on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford was the same one that had been seen earlier in June in Greenwich.
“The journey of this mountain lion is a testament to the wonders of nature and the tenacity and adaptability of this species. DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty said in a statement.
“This is the first evidence of a mountain lion making its way to Connecticut from western states and there is still no evidence indicating that there is a native population of mountain lions in Connecticut.”
Other agencies involved in solving the mountain lion mystery: the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service’s Wildlife Genetics laboratory, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the New York State Museum in Albany.
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