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Halloween mystery: State wildlife officials have no confirmation of 'large cat' roaming in Helotes area

Courtesy photo
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TPWD
What was it? Authorities received a report of a large cat in Helotes. They found nothing.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has not received any information confirming the report of a “large cat” in Helotes, according to the agency in Austin.

"Reports of various wild cat species are frequently submitted with images or video but are most commonly determined to be domestic cats," said Lerrin Johnson, a TPWD spokesperson.

The Bexar County Sheriff's Department searched the area around the alleged spotting reported by a woman this week on Facebook and found nothing.

Still, residents were encouraged to look out for small household pets.

According to TPWD records, there has never been a confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in Helotes. The closest was at Government Canyon State Natural Area in 2013.

If anyone has additional evidence, TPWD asked them to submit it to the local biologist for verification.

Texas has several native cat species. More information about them can be found here.

Responsible precautions allow people and wildlife to safely co-exist within Texas cities. Additional resources for homeowners are here.

Some people speculated it may have been a jaguarundi.

"The last confirmed sighting of a jaguarundi in Texas was in 1986 in Brownsville, TPWD said in a statement. "The jaguarundi is believed to be extirpated from the wild in Texas but does still exist in Mexico."

Bobcats like this one are native to the area
Courtesy photo
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Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
No bobcat was found, but here's the full photo of this beauty.
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