Officials: Big cat on Wichita, Kansas, door camera is cougar

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A doorbell camera captured video of a mountain lion trotting along a residential back alley in Wichita earlier this week, Kansas wildlife officials confirmed.

Kansas Department of Wildlife Research Biologist Matt Peek said it’s the first confirmed cougar sighting in Wichita.

“We haven’t heard any more about the lion, so we’re hopeful that the lion managed to work its way back along the river and left the residential areas,” Peek said Wednesday.

The video was captured early Monday on Cris Boyle’s doorbell camera, showing the large cat padding along the alleyway in the Riverside neighborhood. The wildcat can even be heard growling as it passes by Boyle’s house.

Wildlife officials have notified Wichita police of the sighting, Peek said, so that if someone else reports seeing a mountain lion on their property, police know to take it seriously.