On June 11th of this year an 18 month trek half way across America ended for a male mountain lion. His death took place near Greenwich, Connecticut in the early hours of the morning. He was struck by an SUV while crossing a highway. Although it was a sad ending for this beautiful wild cat, it was only then that his story could be told.
A necropsy and genetic tests were performed on him right away. It was from these tests that his place of origin was determined to be that of the Black Hills of South Dakota. He was estimated to be anywhere from 2-5 years old which is young for a mountain lion. This fact was determined from an extracted tooth. He was also not declawed or neutered showing proof that he was indeed wild and not an escaped cat from a captive situation. They also found porcupine quills in the tissue under his skin which showed that he had lived in the wild for some time.
What was so unique about this young mountain lion was that he had actually traveled over 1500 miles passing through Minnesota and Wisconsin where he had been sighted also. Rarely do male mountain lions travel more than 100 miles in search of a mate or food. But this young male just kept on going in his search for a mate.
This finding has brought much excitement to conservationists out east who are hoping that maybe more mountain lions will also make their way out east and stay. This long distance trek is a wonderful tribute to the tenacity of the species. It is also a gentle reminder that there is still much to be learned about these amazing animals.
A necropsy and genetic tests were performed on him right away. It was from these tests that his place of origin was determined to be that of the Black Hills of South Dakota. He was estimated to be anywhere from 2-5 years old which is young for a mountain lion. This fact was determined from an extracted tooth. He was also not declawed or neutered showing proof that he was indeed wild and not an escaped cat from a captive situation. They also found porcupine quills in the tissue under his skin which showed that he had lived in the wild for some time.
What was so unique about this young mountain lion was that he had actually traveled over 1500 miles passing through Minnesota and Wisconsin where he had been sighted also. Rarely do male mountain lions travel more than 100 miles in search of a mate or food. But this young male just kept on going in his search for a mate.
This finding has brought much excitement to conservationists out east who are hoping that maybe more mountain lions will also make their way out east and stay. This long distance trek is a wonderful tribute to the tenacity of the species. It is also a gentle reminder that there is still much to be learned about these amazing animals.
Thank Our good LORD that nothing happened to this magnificent animal other than Few smaller animals for His food!
préserver la nature c'est sauver la vie humaine
What on earth are you talking about, first poster? He died. I'm certainly not thanking god for that (though as the story said without his death we'd never know how far he came).