140 Pound Mountain Lion Found in Connecticut

If you live close to the country, you might think you've spotted a mountain lion before. However, if you ask anyone who works for the Department of Environmental Conservation, they will talk you out of what you saw or tell you a series of actions you can take to try and capture some evidence of this "mountain lion" you speak of.

Over the weekend, an eastern mountain lion was killed in Milford, Connecticut -- just 70 miles from New York City.  Apparently, there were a few sightings of something that resembled a mountain lion in previous weeks.  The cat was hit on a highway by a small SUV and died of the injuries it sustained.  The body was transfered to a state environmental facility so photos, paw prints, and other evidence collected near three other sightings could be used for comparison.

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Authorities in Connecticut, claim the large cat either escaped or was released from captivity since the eastern mountain lion was officially declared extinct earlier this year.  It makes you think if a government run environmental group, such as Encon, was the actual party that released the animal for population control of some other species.  And that's always been the question amongst numerous hunters and residents who believe they have in fact spotted a mountain lion -- are they released to help cut down the number of deer or other animals that are over populating certain areas?

The closest population of mountain lions that have actually been confirmed are in Missouri.  Doesn't really make sense for a cat from Missouri to travel almost as far as New York City.  So the question is: where did this fairly large kitty cat come from and why did someone release it in the suburbs, so close to people?

Being in the horse world, I remember someone saying that ones of their horses had been "clawed" by something that must have been very big since the claw scratches were very big.  The horse survived, but sustained quite the injury from whatever attacked her.

Have you ever spotted a mountain lion in or around the Capital Region or no someone who has?