Man walks up on mountain lion that follows him toward house

File photo.

A landowner in Moore, Texas found a little more than he bargained for when he walked out into the field surrounding his home to see what the dogs were barking at. He walked up on a big cat he believes must be a Mountain Lion late this past Saturday, June 30. When he shined the light on it, the cougar eerily turned his head and it actually started walking and jogging toward him.
“It was just crazy. I was sitting outside and the horse started making all kinds of racket, and then dogs started going crazy so I walked out into the field between me and my neighbor’s house and that’s where I saw it,” said Kirby Schneider. “I was thinking it was a dog, but then it turned its head toward me and I saw it was definitely a cat.”
“It started walking towards me, and I took off running back toward the house. Then it started jogging after me, and that really scared me. It got pretty close, I’d say within 50 yards of me,” Schneider adds. “When I ran in the house of course my wife and kids thought I was joking. Then my wife and I went back out with my shotgun, and we both saw it out by our cattle pens. I shot while my wife held the spotlight, and it took off running.”
“It was a pretty good size cat, about the size of a big dog, and it was kind of a buckskin color. I started looking online and of course the first thing I read about Mountain Lions was ‘Don’t run because they’ll chase you.’ You are supposed to stand up to it and try to scare it, but it all happened so fast.”
This is certainly not the first sighting of a mountain by different landowners on this ranch and surrounding ranches between Bigfoot and Moore. Wildlife officials noted that if it was really a lion, the fact that it was loitering around so close outside the home is concerning behavior. Over the years we’ve had reports of deer, calves, and even two horses that were attacked in that particular area as well as attacks and sightings near Black Creek and Devine Airport. If you have any sightings or pictures of a mountain lion or tracks or kills, please submit them to The Devine News by Facebook or by calling 830-665-2211.