An unnamed Longview police officer holding up the mountain lion he accidentally struck with his patrol car (Longview Police Department).
Social media users had mixed feelings when a Texas police officer took a photo with a mountain lion he hit with his patrol vehicle by accident.
In a photo shared by the Longview Police Department on their Facebook page on Dec. 11, an unnamed police officer can be seen holding up the carcass of a mountain lion alongside the explanation that he “struck a mountain lion with a patrol vehicle.” Because of the injuries suffered by the animal after the impact, she had to be “put down at the scene.” But it was the officer’s choice to pose for a photo with the dead animal that had commenters torn.
While some were glad they knew mountain lions were something they needed to be aware of in their area, others were not thrilled about the officer’s smiling photo. One user said the image was “super sad and not funny at all.” Another said, “What a tasteless picture.”
Some users made jokes about it, referring to the department slogan “protect and serve,” quipping that the slogan should read “protect and swerve.” Another user pointed out that mountain lions could be preying on neighborhood pets, saying, “People commenting about how the officer is smiling as if he thinks it’s funny the [bobcat] is dead… [wonder] how they would feel if that poor helpless bobcat ate their dog or cat.”
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The Longview Police Department noted that the Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist was at the scene to help retrieve the dead mountain lion. In a statement posted on their site, Texas Parks and Wildlife said they took the animal in “to collect DNA and other biological samples,” noting that the lion was “estimated to be a 3-4-year-old female weighing 83.5 pounds.” They also said that while mountain lions were more commonly known to roam around the western and southern parts of Texas, “individual lions can move long distances and can show up in areas where they are not typically known to occur,” including the eastern part of the state where Longview is located.
The samples from the mountain lion will be used for research purposes at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as well as the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute in Kingsville, Texas.
