DNA tests show that a 140-pound mountain lion killed last month on a Connecticut highway had walked more than 1,500 miles east from the Black Hills of South Dakota., state officials said today.
The epic journey was the longest ever recorded for a mountain lion.
"The confirmation of a wild mountain lion in our state was the first recorded in more than 100 years," said Daniel Esty, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. "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."
The department explained the genetic sleuthing in a news release:
The genetic tests reveal information about the mountain lion's origin and travels were conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Wildlife Genetics Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. DNA tests show that tissue from the Milford mountain lion matches the genetic structure of the mountain lion population in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
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