Possible Mountain Lion Sighting Reported in New Canaan

NEW CANAAN, CT- A mountain lion may have been spotted in New Canaan last week.

Wildlife experts are examining a paw print left behind by an animal and at least one resident reported seeing a mountain lion, according to the New Canaanite.

A resident on Fox Run Road reported seeing the animal on March 30. Experts with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are examining photos of the paw prints to determine the species of animal.

Mountain lions go by a number of names including puma, cougar and panther.

The animal has so many different names because of its wide range, which extends from western Canada and the United States to southern South America, according to the San Diego Zoo. It has the largest range of any terrestrial mammal in the western hemisphere outside of humans.

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It would't be the first time a mountain lion was spotted in the area. Connecticut made national headlines in 2011 after a mountain lion was spotted in Greenwich and met its end after being hit by a SUV on the Wilbur Cross parkway in Milford. It traveled about 1,100 miles from South Dakota.

Related: Connecticut Mountain Lion Traveled from South Dakota

At the time the mountain lion was the first spotted in Connecticut in more than 100 years.

Read the full New Canaanite story here.

Image via Tambako The Jaguar/Flickr Commons of mountain lion in zoo.