PLANO, Texas — Wednesday was a nice day to enjoy Plano’s Chisolm Trail. There were people riding bikes, walking, fishing, and even knitting. However, some residents such as Miriam Fease, did not know what took place just days ago.
WFAA showed Fease ring camera footage of a mountain lion spotted behind a neighbor’s home near the trail. “Wow. That's insane. Oh my gosh,” said Fease.
Another resident, Haley Campanella, was in shock too.
“It's just scary thinking about my kids playing in the back alley, and that's right where it was,” said Campanella.
Her toddler son, Cooper, was extra brave. We asked him what he said when his mom and dad showed him video of the mountain lion.
“I didn't say anything," Cooper said.
Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Rachel Richter said her department has been keeping a record of mountain lion sightings since the 1990’s.
“When they are looking to find a new territory or something like that, they've been known to move very large distances in relatively short periods of time,” Richter, TWPD Urban Wildlife Biologist.
Richter said the mountain lion spotted in Plano might be the same one seen in Lake Dallas and Frisco a few weeks ago. She told WFAA these sightings are rare as mountain lions typically live in South Texas.
“The fact that this mountain lion has been passing through a very densely populated area, and we've only managed to get it on camera three times is an attest to how elusive they can be and how much they don't want to be around people,” Richter said.
In North Texas, there’s often bobcat sightings, which look different from mountain lion.
“It will be much larger than a bobcat or a house cat would be,” Richter said. “Mountain lions have very long tails that go kind of down all the way in between their legs and will actually stick out a little bit past the feet. It almost touches the ground in the mountain lion. Whereas bobcats, of course, get their name for their short tails. They have a little bob tail.”
If you see a mountain lion, Richter said to slowly move away without turning your back to it. If it’s aggressive, throw whatever you can at it, and attempt to fight back if it attacks.
It is the opposite of what brave little Cooper had in mind.
“I would put it in a cage,” Cooper said. “Give it my mountain lion food.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife also asked the public to report any mountain lion sightings. It helps them to monitor and keep track of the animal.