Re(1): Mt lion that walked from South Dakota IP: 68.197.77.206 Posted on May 26, 2016 at 11:08:35 AM by Chris
Good morning, Weather,
Are you commenting on Heart of a Lion without having read the book?
DNA from one individual was established from several locations in MN and WI and matched to the Black Hills by the national genomics lab in Missoula, MT with its 1,000 cougar genome database a year before the cat arrived in NY. NYS DEC sent its first fur sample to Melanie Culver, who never responded. NYS DEC thought they had an escapee from an ADK cat facility; there was no rush to determine origin. NYS DEC sent another sample to the national genomics lab upon CT's announcement. CT necropsy/analysis was conducted and reported on not by CT DEEP, but by a USFWS pathologist flown in from Oregon. Genetic samples from MN, WI, NY and CT matched to one individual whose genetic origin matched the Black Hills population.
Genetic confirmations from eastern Canada have never corresponded to the Black Hills: half are Latin American.