Cougar struck and killed near Minneapolis likely the one seen in home security video, expert says

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota wildlife official says that a cougar that was struck and killed on an interstate highway in suburban Minneapolis was more than likely the same animal captured on home security video sauntering across a driveway earlier this week. An SUV struck the cougar Wednesday morning (Dec. 6, 2023) on Interstate 394 in Golden Valley, a short distance from the Minneapolis neighborhood where a cougar showed up in surveillance video two days earlier. Dan Stark, a large carnivore specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, says the dead cougar was likely the same one since cougars are exceedingly rare in the Minneapolis area. Until this week, a cougar hadn’t been seen in Hennepin County in nearly 20 years.