Dallas County Lion Sighting: Texas Parks and Wildlife Confirms First Documented Mountain Lion Roaming Dallas Suburb

At one point or another, mountain lions roamed all over the Lone Star State. These days, however, the large feline is considered one of the rarest creatures in Texas. Which makes this recent Dallas County lion sighting extremely exciting!

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed the news of a mountain lion being spotted cruising around the Dalrock area in Rowlett, after a couple discovered the animal walking past a trail camera setup behind their home. It’s a discovery that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says has never been documented in Dallas County until now.

The rare trail camera footage captured Sunday shows the animal lurking behind the home of a couple who shared it on YouTube.

There were two clips shared by YouTube user Logan Aduddell showing what the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed to be a mountain lion waltzing through the property from two varying angles.

State wildlife workers later visited the area to try and collect some concrete evidence, and discovered several tracks to back up their initial suspicion.

In a statement, the TPWD said “One key thing to keep in mind is mountain lions are a component of the natural landscape in many parts of Texas, and unless they are in what we would consider a no-tolerance zone such as near a school, or of the lion exhibited threatening behavior, then there’s really no action they would consider taking.”

The mountain lion and its tracks were spotted in an area of Texas that isn’t necessarily known to have a large deer population – mountain lion’s prominent food source – so it’s likely this lion was ‘shopping’ in the pork section. Feral hogs run rampant across Texas, and they serve as another common food source for lions.

With that in mind, and the fact mountain lions are known to travel several miles at a time, wildlife experts say they would be surprised if this big cat was seen in the area again.

OutdoorHub Editor: Keenan Crow

Keenan Crow is an outdoor writer who graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in journalism and creative writing. He has been writing for OutdoorHub for nearly five years, but anybody he is close with will tell you he has been telling hunting stories for far longer. He uses his experiences outdoors to write about things he loves - bow hunting, fishing, upland hunting, shed hunting, turkey hunting, waterfowl hunting, dog training, shotguns, ATVs and the outdoor lifestyle he lives in his home state of Michigan. Outside of hunting/fishing, he also loves to cook - especially with wild game - play golf and go on hikes with his yellow lab, Stella.