Community stumped by mystery animal caught on videotape
Officials are trying to identify an animal caught in grainy black-and-white video footage moving quietly through a residential neighbourhood, saying the beast does not appear to be a dog or a lion.
The creature was captured on a resident's security camera last Friday, walking calmly past parked cars and was initially thought to be a mountain lion, according to a Facebook post from officials.
However, it was concluded in a subsequent post that the four-legged intruder was not a mountain lion by an expert with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
That same expert could not identify the animal, seen in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk, any further.
Meanwhile Craig Packer, a professor at the University of Minnesota's Lion Research Center, agreed in an interview with the The Los Angeles Times that the beast was not likely a mountain lion or cougar, adding that he thought it resembled an African lion.
A San Diego Zoo spokeswoman said it appeared to be a big cat of undetermined origin, possibly "some kind of hybrid."
Despite stepped-up patrols by authorities the creature has not been seen since it was videotaped last week but the city has cautioned residents to contact law enforcement immediately if they run across it.
News break – August 5
