San Antonio parks and recreation officials recently decided to close three city parks and wilderness areas on the city’s northwest side off I-10, citing public safety concerns amid TV news reports about a series of reported mountain lion sightings. Several department Wildlife Division employees investigated the reports this past week, interviewing witnesses and visiting the three parks and also Leon Creek river drainages under I-10, but TPWD found no physical evidence of a lion.
The investigating team did note considerable construction and development in the area, causing a “bottle neck” where natural habitat is disappearing. “We are treating these reported sightings seriously and carefully, following our recently completed Mountain Lion response protocol,” said John Young, TPWD mammalogist in Austin, who keeps records of lion sightings and mortalities in Texas. “But we have not definitively determined that there is a mountain lion in this area.
It is a scientifically documented fact that people typically confuse mountain lions with a whole host of other animals.” In 2006, TPWD formed an internal committee involving wildlife biologists, game wardens, state park rangers and others to develop written guidelines for handling mountain lion reports and incidents.
WE have hunting lease in East TExas. There have been sighting (two in the last 10 years, large cat tracks seen, usually every other year, with smaller tracks with it, (not bob cat unless it has feet measured in the mud of lat least 5″ by 5″) took pictures with ruler, but can not find picturs.
I have not personally seen this laarge cat. Hunter who saw it said it was beige in color, had a large thick tail, over all length with tail was approx 10 feet. ANWAY, I was hunting from a latter stand watching a corn feeder. There was something moving from my right that at first thought might be a bob cat. IT moved directly in from on me and the feeder. It was beige in color, (It must have been a juvenile because it was slipping up on a squirrel and was doing a lousy job.) It starting running after the squirrel way too soon, should have gotten closer.THIS ANIMIAL, (CAT) WAS NOT A BOB CAT, WAS BEIGHE IN COLOR, HAD A HEAD LIKE A MOUNTAIN LION, WHEN IT WAS FACING AWAY FROM ME, THE BACK OF ITS EARS WERE WHITE, AND THE BACK OF THE BOTTON PART OF ITS REAR LEGS WERE BLACK) THIS CAT WAS APPROX 18′ LONG WITH A SHORTER TAIL, THE TAIL WAS ONLY ABOUT HALF AS LONG AS ITS BODY.(SORRY ABOUT MY SPELLING) DO YOU THINK THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A YOUNG MOUNTAIN LION?