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Originally Posted by farechofisherman
The latest local news down here is that the mountain lion killed on the CT highway last month was indeed a wild cat. Unbeleivable, but CT environmental authorities have determined that the wild mountain lion came from the Black Hills region of South Dakota!! They actually matched this cat with his dna from hair and dropping samples in South Dakota. Minnesota and Wisconsin as they tracked it back in 2009 and 2010. The 140 pound, very healthy male, traveled about 2000 miles on his journey, truly an amazing story! He was actually spotted by the Westchester County Airport, next to Greenwich CT, prior to his death. What I find amazing, is that he must have come down state from the Catskills or the Adirondacks, because I can't imagine him swimming the Delaware and Hudson Rivers to get to Westchester County. (Maybe he had EZ Pass and did the GW or Tappan Zee  ) So anyway, I find it to be an amazing story and it is sure to raise the debate once again; that seasoned outdoorsman have said they have seen them in northern New England and F&G departments are not accepting it, Sounds to me like they are back in our mountains and forests. Pretty cool |
Saw that NPR article the other day, and was thinking about the potential number of interstates, rivers, etc., that the cougar had to cross. Depending on its route, (north over the Great Lakes, or south across the Mississippi, etc.), there are a number of obstacles, not to mention urban areas.
Since the article mentioned sightings in Minnesota, the route was probably north, so it would avoid the Mississippi, Susquehanna, Delaware rivers. Bbut that leaves the St. Lawrence on a trip through Canada. And then a straight shot down through New York or Vermont/Mass to CT? Fascinating, and very cool that they could trace its origin using DNA.
I'm more convinced than ever that there's merit to the numerous sightings in the northern parts of New England.