DNA testing on a mountain lion killed on a road in Connecticut revealed that it had traveled 1,800 miles from South Dakota:
Link -via Geekosystem | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user jurveston used under Creative Commons license
According to scientists with the US Department of Agriculture, DNA taken from the mountain lion showed its genetic structure matched a population of cats native to the sparsely populated Black Hills region of South Dakota.
The DNA also matched samples taken from hair and blood in Minnesota, directly east of South Dakota, and Wisconsin, which neighbours that state to the east, in late 2009 to early 2010.
Link -via Geekosystem | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user jurveston used under Creative Commons license
Newest 4 Comments
According to some websites, the mass wildebeest migration is about 1,800 miles, and they do it year after year. Not to mention us humans who have the benefit of mass transportation.
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So sad. All that way and then hit by a car.
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Humans have covered WAY greater distances. Do we count as land mammals? I mean, we evolved as persistence hunters. The very fact that we can run farther and with more endurance than pretty much any animal out there is why we were such impressive hunters historically.
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Seems more likely to me that the DNA of that group of lions traveled 1800 miles than that particular cat.
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