on the side of caution when it comes to the safety and well-being of the citizens of Hood County and will continue to alert them of any safety issue that may affect them.”įor more crazy outdoor stories, visit The Realblog and check out Realtree’s Facebook page. Most could not be confirmed and only a fraction verified. “We will wait for the final autopsy report,” Rose said in the written statement. Since 2011, more than 250 mountain lion sightings have been reported to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department from all over the state. The sheriff’s office is still investigating and is gathering photo evidence and statements from residents who claim to have seen the mountain lion. Johnny Rose, a spokesman for the Hood County sheriff’s office, said, “It appears we have two conflicting reports from two agencies that are experts in their field.” The Borderlands Research Institute, based at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, says it is using GPS collar data to find mountain lion kill sites in south Texas, so it can figure out what. No medical examiner’s report is currently listed for Whiteley on the county’s website, but a justice of the peace in Hood County told a reporter with The Dallas Morning News that preliminary autopsy results showed “puncture injuries consistent with that of a large cat.” due to mountain lion attacks in 100 years.ĭespite the state agency’s response, the sheriff’s office is standing by initial findings from the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office, which it says indicate the man died in an animal attack, possibly by a mountain lion. There have been 30 confirmed deaths throughout the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services came to the same conclusion.ĭespite the disagreement, the state officials haven’t offered an alternative theory for how Whiteley died.Īccording to the TPWD, fatal mountain lion attacks on people are so rare that the department has no record of an attack in Texas. The state agency also said a biologist with the U.S. But the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) disagrees, saying in a written statement that after an inspection of the scene, its game wardens, wildlife biologists, and other experts found no evidence of a mountain lion, or other wild animal attack. Fighting back can drive off lions.Īdditional information about mountain lions in Texas can be found here.Texas officials can’t agree on what killed a man found in a wooded area near Lipan, approximately 85 miles from Dallas, last week. The Hood County Sheriff’s Office said it suspects Christopher Allen Whiteley, 28, was fatally attacked by a mountain lion, or other wild animal. If the lion is aggressive, throw rocks, sticks, or anything you can get your hands on. The mountain lion (Puma concolor), also known as cougar, puma and panther, has been an integral part of the Texas fauna for thousands of years, as evidenced by the paintings and pictographs of Native Americans (see left) and the fossil record.Face the lion and remain in an upright position.Pick up all children off the ground immediately.The department offered tips in the event someone encounters a mountain lion: There are no records of a confirmed fatal attack on a person by a wild mountain lion in Texas. When living in areas with possible mountain lion activity, TPWD recommends residents do not allow children and small pets to play outside unsupervised.Īttacks on people are extremely rare with fewer than 30 confirmed fatal mountain lion attacks on people in North America in the last 100 years. The first sighting was in Dallas County on December 1.Īccording to the department, mountain lions can be found in much of Texas and rarely create conflict with people. This is the second confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in North Texas this month. CBS DFW reports a homeowner's security camera captured one of the rarest creatures in Texas. Dallas County had an extremely rare visitor last week. It is believed that it is possible they are the same animal. Utah man captures mountain lion encounter 03:20. The photos were taken in an area about 20 miles north of a mountain lion photographed in Rowlett on Nov. Photos were captured of the mountain lion earlier this week with a time stamp of Dec.
In the Trans-Pecos, the home range of mountain lions range from 50,000 to 80,000 acres. The largest breeding population of mountain lions in Texas occurs in the Trans Pecos region where there are large undeveloped tracts of land. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed a sighting of a mountain lion near Princeton in Collin County. Mountain lions are native to Texas and classified as a nongame species.