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Maintenance Worker Causes Stir At Waterfront After Claiming To See A Bobcat

WEST HOMESTEAD (KDKA) -- Is a bobcat on the prowl in West Homestead?

Some people swear they saw one today, but the Pennsylvania Game Commission says it was not a bobcat.

There were tracks in the snow, but the question remains, what do they belong to?

An employee at the Hampton Inn and Suites in West Homestead at The Waterfront thought it might be a bobcat. The employee reported seeing what appeared to be an 80 pound one that hissed at him.

Police showed up as well as the Game Commission. People noticed the commotion.

B.J. Gaughan, of Brighton Township, asked an officer what was up.

"He said they [were] looking for a wild cat," said Gaughan, "a bobcat that was chasing a maintenance worker."

"I just heard there was a bobcat," said Giamarie Mandillian, of New Jersey. "I'm kind of surprised you see one around here."

But Game Commission Officer Gary Fujak tells KDKA's David Highfield that he measured the tracks, and that it is definitely not a bobcat.

Instead, he believes it was a very large house cat.

Maps show that there are bobcats in Pennsylvania, but it also shows that they are scarce in here in Western Pennsylvania.

Fujak says there's never been a credible bobcat sighting in Allegheny County.

The animal was not caught and is still on the loose.

The Game Commission says even if there were a bobcat here, which they say there wasn't, it wouldn't go around people, and generally would only go after rabbits and things like that for food.

RELATED LINKS:
More West Homestead News
More Reports by David Highfield

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