http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/27/connec … ?hpt=hp_c2He was one cool cat, trekking halfway across America before meeting an untimely death by car on a Connecticut parkway.
The 1,500-mile feline journey is a "testament to the wonders of nature and the tenacity" of the species, said Daniel Esty, commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
It was one of the longest known movements ever recorded for a land mammal and nearly double the distance for a mountain lion, the agency said.
There had been sightings of the large cat in Greenwich, Connecticut, its presence an anomaly in a state where none has been seen in more than a century.
Sadly, it was the cat's death that helped tie everything together.
A 2006 Hyundai Tucson SUV hit and killed the animal in the very early hours of June 11. Police were informed of a collision between a vehicle and a mountain lion in the northbound lane, near exit 55, of Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford.
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Normally, the majestic male cats don't wander beyond 100 miles while looking for female partners or prey. But this one kept going, through Minnesota and Wisconsin, where its sightings were recorded and DNA evidence collected from droppings, blood and hair.
All of that distance traveled just to get killed by a Hyundai.
Poor animal. Mountain lions are cool.
