Next stop...immortality

Sort of.

Back on the topic of the cougar that wandered into the mean streats of Chicago and faced off against Chicago's finest, which I mentioned here.

It seems that the remains are now in the hands of Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, who have the fifth largest collection of mammal specimens in the world.

The body has been skinned, measurements taken, and biological study done by the Cook County Animal and Rabies Control agency and the Brookfield Zoo. Now the skeleton gets the flesh-eating beetle treatment, then frozen, labeled and stored.

It seems an unfitting end to such a magnificent animal. On the other hand, the process will let its death mean something far more than a blip on the News of the Weird. The remains will be available for scientists and researchers well into the future who seek to understand these animals and their habitat.

Just remember....as an occupant of both above and below, this long-tailed wildcat's spirit has moved on, but he left behind his message to balance power and intent.