In Greenwich, Connecticut sightings of a cougar were confirmed in early June by paw prints, animal droppings, photographs, and then by the body of a 140-pound male creature that was killed by an Sport Utility Vehicle. This was a startling discovery because, before this the last confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in Connecticut was in the late 1800's. The mountain lion's origins were determined by the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Wildlife Genetics Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. DNA testing from the tissue of the animal killed in Connecticut matched DNA samples found in Black Hills region of South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Biologists determined this animals journey to be a 1,500 mile trek. "The travels of a young lion is a familiar pattern called dispersal, in which young males search for mates." Officials say they rarely travel more than 100 miles, it seems to have been a long and serious search for lion love.
I find it extraordinary that a cougar could travel 1,500 miles to look for a mate. This was a really interesting blog post.
ReplyDelete