The city of Rochester, New York, may or may not be under siege by a mountain lion.
According to ABC affiliate WHAM, a man claims to have seen the big cat prowling through the streets, though police say they were unable to verify the animal’s presence.
“After I see the people run, I just see something big, just walking just right over there, it went right over there I swear, I promise you, it went right over there,” Curtis Jones tells WHAM of the alleged cougar encounter. “And it said ‘rawr,’ and I just kept walking. I seen it, seeing me, see it, so in my head I’m like, ‘Nah, I got to go man, I’m out.'”
Video of the purported animal made the rounds on social media, and police received multiple calls reporting sightings.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation tells WHAM that the animal could be a cougar based on the footage, and if it is, it’s more likely to be an illegal pet than a wild creature. Meanwhile, the local Seneca Park Zoo says all of its big cats are accounted for.
Should he come face-to-face with the cougar again, Jones is ready.
“I am going to keep this bat right here, man, just in case,” Jones says. “I am going to protect us, I ain’t going to let nothing happen to us, nothing. OK?”
Notably, the New York DEC warns residents to “treat an encounter like any other with a large, potentially dangerous wild animal or unfamiliar dog. Keep a safe distance, and slowly back away.”