Wild Big Cat Spotted in Garland

GARLAND, Texas - In this lush gated community in Garland, you'd expect to see plenty of luxury cars, manicured lawns and imposing brick homes. You wouldn't expect to see a wild bobcat.

But personal trainer Welcome Edwards says he did, at 11:15 Monday morning.

"At first I thought it was a big [house] cat," said Edwards, when he spotted the creature in a driveway off Ramblewood Drive, just north of the Firewheel Golf Course.

But soon he realized the animal was too large.

"It was probably about 40 to 50 pounds, tops," he said. "I've got a Lab that's 60 pounds, and this thing was all muscle."

Edwards says he and some curious neighbors began following the cat as it made its way down the street.

"It seemed really skittish," he said. "It was going from bush to bush in each yard, trying to get out of there." The feline did not appear to be aggressive.

He believes it was a bobcat. Others in the neighborhood called it a mountain lion.

Whatever it was, Garland Animal Control told Edwards they would be on the lookout for it.

"I was surprised at their reaction," he said. "They said they'd have their patrol officers check around."

Animal control officers in many cities are unable to respond to wild or aggressive animal calls unless the creature is confined or trapped in a fenced area.

Edwards believes the cat most likely came from an undeveloped wooded area about a quarter mile away from the neighborhood.

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