Connecticut Mountain Lion Traveled from South Dakota

In what’s being called the longest journey a mountain lion has ever taken in the United States, a cougar , Conn. six weeks ago—believed by some to be the same cougar , Conn.—traveled 1,800 miles from South Dakota to get to New England, Connecticut officials said Tuesday.

According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, collected analyst data shows that the feline known in South Dakota known as the “St. Croix Cougar” journeyed from that state’s Black Hills, through Minnesota and Wisconsin and across the Midwest to Greenwich, where it met its end after colliding with a SUV on the Wilbur Cross parkway in Milford.

“This is an incredible journey, nearly double that of any mountain lion [ever recorded],” Connecticut DEEP Commissioner Dan Esty said during a press briefing.

Scat samples, including those found in Greenwich, as well as sightings across the nation dating back as far as December 2009, snow tracks, photos from trail cameras, tissues collected for genetic testing and the young male’s unmanicured condition, led analysts—including in a lab in Rocky Hill, Conn.—to the conclusion mountain lion had not been held in captivity, according to Paul Rego, a supervising wildlife biologist with the DEEP.

Esty touted the cougar's ability to traverse so far in the wild as a testament to efforts from conservationists and environmental protection groups.

“Although this is the story of the first recorded example of a mountain lion sighting in Connecticut in more than 100 years, there is no evidence of a mountain lion [in Connecticut] beyond this single individual,” Esty said.

The findings mark the latest chapter in a story that’s captured the attention and imagination of residents throughout Fairfield County and Connecticut—the gregarious “” on Facebook last week notched her 3,000th friend—as a species in the Nutmeg State appeared to have reemerged.

Within days of the mountain lion’s death on a highway in Milford (see photo), state DEEP officials launched an investigation into whether that cougar had been .

In Greenwich and throughout the state, the dual sightings sparked debate over whether mountain lions were present in greater numbers than state officials had acknowledged. In Fairfield, police were given the green light to that couldn’t be contained.

As investigators searched for answers, including in , residents in Greenwich and other Connecticut towns, , began reporting , was found to be inaccurate.