Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Announces Mountain Lion Killed on Wilbur Cross Parkway Early Saturday Morning
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Announces Mountain Lion Killed on Wilbur Cross Parkway Early Saturday Morning
At approximately 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2011, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) was notified by State Police – Troop I, of a collision between a motor vehicle and a Mountain Lion Northbound in the area of Exit 55 in Milford.
The operator of the involved vehicle was driving a 2006 Hyundai Tucson SUV when it collided with the Mountain Lion. The Mountain Lion died due to injuries sustained during the collision and the driver was uninjured.
The 140-pound male Mountain Lion has been transferred to a DEP facility for further examination. The large cat may be the one sighted in Greenwich on Sunday, June 5.
The Connecticut DEP has been cooperating with the Town of Greenwich Police Department to investigate recent sightings of a large cat in the King Street area of Greenwich. Based on photographs taken of the animal and other evidence it appeared that the animal was a Mountain Lion. Mountain lions can travel long distances and may have found its way to Milford.
There is no native population of mountain lions in Connecticut and the eastern mountain lion has been declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
This incident is still under investigation by DEP EnCon Police, part of which will be to determine if in fact the cat killed in the collision is the same cat seen in Greenwich.