Video captures first documented mountain lion sighting in Dallas County
Dallas County had an extremely rare visitor last week. CBS DFW reports 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.
Video recorded on Sunday shows the animal 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 and 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 DFW received a statement from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, which said: "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.