View Full Version : Connecticut Cougar Was A Thru-Hiker!
Old Grouse
07-26-2011, 20:00
This is pretty amazing. They say now that the cougar spotted and later killed by a car in southwestern Connecticut has been on the move from South Dakota for a couple of years.
http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/wiltonbulletin/news.html
That's a lot of successful road crossings.
johnnybgood
07-26-2011, 20:50
That's a lot of successful road crossings.
Plus one that was not successful as fate would have it.
So is it now at least possible to think that eastern sightings of mountain lions are factual evidence of their existence , abeit in very small numbers ?
Sightings are not necessarily evidence of the existance of naturally occurring mountain lions any more than they were prior to this discovery. It does demonstrate it's possible for them to travel greater distances many thought possible and raises the question regarding how many more have made it here on their own.
johnnybgood
07-26-2011, 21:37
Precisely my point Emerald. I'm quite sure this is not the first mountain lion to have traveled far from it's natural habitat.
You're probably right, but a breeding population becoming established here would take more than just the presence a male and a female lion. Still, given enough time, it's bound to happen.
Aren't male mountain lions more likely to wander far from their place of birth than females? I'd think mountain lions more likely to get here by extending the boundaries of their range over time than by establishing a population well outside their existing range, no?
Not to be a Doubting Thomas here, but who verified that the cat was actually killed in CT? Every year or so there is a pictorial report of a huge Mountain Lion shot by someone in and eastern state. The dead cat is usually in the bed of of pickup truck and the license plate is always blocked from view somehow. In almost every case someone id's the photo from out west. I am in the group that firmly believes there are indeed Mountain Lions in the east including my home state of PA, but would like more amplification on exactly how that CT cat was hit and who confirmed details.
Wise Old Owl
07-26-2011, 22:44
When I saw "Connecticut Cougar" I thought 40 something female with a bad trail name......awe its just another cat.
When I saw "Connecticut Cougar" I thought 40 something female with a bad trail name......awe its just another cat.
You beat me to it WOO.... still chuckling!!
Not to be a Doubting Thomas here, but who verified that the cat was actually killed in CT? Every year or so there is a pictorial report of a huge Mountain Lion shot by someone in and eastern state. The dead cat is usually in the bed of of pickup truck and the license plate is always blocked from view somehow. In almost every case someone id's the photo from out west. I am in the group that firmly believes there are indeed Mountain Lions in the east including my home state of PA, but would like more amplification on exactly how that CT cat was hit and who confirmed details.
The following at the end of the article.
The accident
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2011 DEEP was notified by State Police - Troop I, of a collision between a motor vehicle and a mountain lion Northbound on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in the area of Exit 55 in Milford.The animal was struck and killed by a 2006 Hyundai Tucson SUV. The operator of the vehicle was uninjured.
DEEP had been working with the Town of Greenwich Police Department to investigate prior sightings of a large cat in that town. Based on photographs taken of the animal and other evidence it appeared that the animal was a mountain lion. The last “credible sighting” in Greenwich was June 5.
WingedMonkey
07-27-2011, 00:23
One local news report says he was between 2 and 5 years old. Same report also states he was in Minnesota, December 2009, so of course he can't be 2 years old.
How about one of you stats freaks that track speed hikers figure out how fast he was moving?
It's beyond by abilities, I don't even know how fast I hike.
:sun
Looks like he section hiked a good portion of the North Country Trail with a number of green blazes but obviously he did not use any drop boxes.
vamelungeon
07-27-2011, 08:37
Looks like he section hiked a good portion of the North Country Trail with a number of green blazes but obviously he did not use any drop boxes.
Probably relied more on trail magic, and trail angels in the form of deer...