lions not unheard of in this area
Lions and tigers and bears, oh, my!
Bexar County Sheriff's Deputies and a police helicopter were called out early this morning after a woman called to report a lion wandering her neighborhood, 1200 WOAI news reports.
Deputies say the call came in from Mesquite Trail, which is located off Talley Road in far west Bexar County, about 1:30 AM.
The call was specific, the woman said she saw a large female lion wandering in the area.
Sheriff's officer and a police helicopter searched the area for about ninety minutes, but the only wild animals they found in the area were deer.
Lions roaming in this area is not unheard of. Several years ago, Friedrich Wilderness Park on the northwest side had to be closed due to credible reports of a lion in the park. Mountain lions are in fact native to Bexar County and the Hill Country, which is where the names of Leon Creek and Leon Valley get their names.
In, in its publication 'Mountain Lions of Texas,' Texas Parks and Wildlife writes: "Sighting and kill reports indicate mountain lions now occur in more counties than they did ten years ago, and appear to be expanding their range into Central Texas."
There was also a wild animal orphanage on Talley Road for several decades, but it closed in 2010 and all of its animals were moved to other orphanages. Animals which escaped from the orphanage were not uncommon in the area right around where the woman said she saw the lion this morning.
