big cats

The Greenwich Mountain Lion Was Really From South Dakota

The rogue mountain lion that had been, until recently, terrorizing the smug parents of Greenwich has an interesting history. After it was killed by an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway on June 11, scientists did some testing on its 140-pound body. Turns out, it was originally from the black hills of South Dakota, and animal researchers had been tracking it separately in Wisconsin and Minnesota. That means the lion walked some 1,500 miles to Connecticut. Since it was a young male, it was probably searching for a mate — a trek that seldom extends more than 100 miles. The unfortunate thing for the big cat, though, was that no other mountain lions have been spotted in Connecticut since the 1800s. (Well, the other unfortunate thing, beyond the fact that people speed like crazy on the Wilbur Cross.)

Wild Cougar Traveled East 1,500 Miles, Tests Find [NYT]

The Greenwich Mountain Lion Was Really From South Dakota