Texas Parks And Wildlife Confirms First Documented Mountain Lion Sighting In Dallas County
ROWLETT, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas County had an extremely rare visitor last week.
But it's the kind of visitor that could cause some chills.
It was in a neighborhood near Lake Ray Hubbard off Dalrock in Rowlett where a homeowner's security camera captured one of the rarest creatures in Texas, a mountain lion.
It's an animal that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says hasn't had a documented appearance in Dallas County until now.
This is video recorded on Sunday behind the home of a couple who posted it on YouTube.
It shows what the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed to be a mountain lion wandering past the property from two different angles.
State wildlife workers later inspected the area found tracks to back up their initial suspicion that it was indeed a mountain lion.
They analyzed the video and ruled out other possible types of wildlife such as a bobcat because its tail was long enough to drag on the ground.
CBS 11 received a statement from TPWD saying, "Biologists suspect that this mountain lion is most likely a transient juvenile male that is just passing through as it searches for a home range, a place where it can establish itself. The mountain lion and its tracks were spotted on a private property in Rowlett... Mountain lion's food sources include deer as well as feral hogs and there is not a large deer population in the area where this lion was spotted. So, it could have been searching for feral hogs/a general food source."
Wildlife experts also says mountain lions can travel many miles during a week so they would be surprised if it's seen again.
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