BUT, BUT ,BUT the DEP in Connecticut, and Mass for that matter, say that the mountian lion is extinct in New England.
Bob
The Department of Environmental Protection said in a statement that the 140-pound animal died after being hit by an SUV at about 1 a.m. Saturday.
Mountain Lions can travel about 25 miles a day. There had been several recent sightings of a large cat believed to be a mountain lion in Greenwich, Connecticut, about 30 miles away from Milford.
Mountain lions are not native to Connecticut and the eastern mountain lion has been declared extinct by the U.S. wildlife officials
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/06/11/mountain-lion-killed-in-conn-car-crash-65-miles-from-mass-border/
"It's very unusual for mountain lions to be near the roadway and on the highway, so it's unique as far as we're concerned," said State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance.
State Department of Environmental Protection officials were called to the scene, and transferred the 140-pound animal to a DEP facility for further examination.
DEP spokesman Dennis Schain said it is likely the dead mountain lion is the same one seen three times in Greenwich recently.
The most recent sighting was reported last Sunday evening by several Brunswick School faculty, who said they saw a mountain lion at the school's King Street campus.
"It's pretty likely, given that there's no native population of mountain lion in Connecticut," Schain said.
The DEP has been working with the Greenwich Police Department to investigate the sightings of a large cat around King Street in Greenwich. DEP officials confirmed Wednesday the animal was a mountain lion based on a hazy photograph, large paw prints and droppings.
The eastern mountain lion was declared extinct in March by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and DEP officials believe the animal may have been released or escaped from a local handler.
Read more:
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/a...d-by-car-in-Milford-1419941.php#ixzz1P6ZauacU