I had to search that one as I have seen similar denials of "dangerous" wildlife not existing where they clearly do.
This is a big cat!
DEP: Mountain Lion Spotted In Greenwich Is Dead, Struck By Car On Route 15
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A Mountain Lion, not normally spotted in Connecticut, was killed in Milford. (Courtesy Connecticut State Police / June 11, 2011)
By HILLARY FEDERICO, hfederico@courant.com
The Hartford Courant
5:49 p.m. EDT, June 11, 2011
MILFORD— The mountain lion killed by a car on the Wilbur Cross Parkway early Saturday morning was most likely the same big cat spotted recently in Greenwich, a state Department of Environmental Protection said.
"We don't see a lot of those around here," DEP spokesman Dennis Schain said.
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Mountain Lion hit on Route 15 in Milford
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Newington The mountain lion was hit at about 1 a.m. north of exit 55, about 40 miles east of Greenwich, police said. State police said a car driven by Sigred Lacson, 40, of Newington, was northbound north on the parkway in the left lane when it hit the mountain lion.
The animal was found dead at the scene, state police said. The driver was uninjured.
DEP later confirmed that the animal was a 140-pound male mountain lion. It was taken to a DEP facility for further examination.
It is likely that it is the mountain lion seen in Greenwich on June 5, according to DEP spokeswoman Cyndy Chanaca.
On Wednesday, after the sighting in Greenwich, the DEP issued a press release saying: "Based on photographs taken of the animal and other evidence, it appears that the animal is a mountain lion that has been held in captivity and was released or escaped."
Despite a number of reported sightings over the years, the DEP says that there are no native mountain lions in Connecticut, and the eastern mountain lion was declared extinct in March by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The DEP is investigating to determine if the Milford cat is the same one seen in Greenwich.
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