MILFORD, Conn., July 27 (UPI) -- A mountain lion hit by a car and killed on a Connecticut road had walked halfway across the United States before it died in June, scientists have said.
DNA tests showed the cat's genetic structure matched a population of cats native to the sparsely populated Black Hills region of South Dakota, almost 1,800 miles from where the animal died, the BBC reported Tuesday.
When it was hit by a car and killed in Milford, Conn., the young, lean, 140-pound male was the first mountain lion seen in that state in more than a century, Daniel Esty of the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.
The 1,800-mile sojourn of the big cat is one of the longest-ever recorded journeys by a land mammal, scientists said.
"The journey of this mountain lion is a testament to the wonders of nature and the tenacity and adaptability of this species," Esty said.
The cat had not been not de-clawed or neutered, suggesting it was not an escaped or released captive animal, researchers said.
Although the species once ranged widely throughout North and South America, its habitat in North America is mostly limited to the western United States and Canada, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.
