No, this was probably not spotted in D.C. last night. Sorry. (Image via Shutterstock)

No, this was probably not spotted in D.C. last night. Sorry. (Image via Shutterstock)

Last night, a mountain lion was reportedly spotted in Southeast D.C.—and no, not the Mac operating system kind.

Twitter was ablaze after the Office of Community Engagement tweeted a public safety alert about a sighting of a large feline:

However, according to a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson “no one could confirm that it was a mountain lion.” The PIO tells DCist that “we have a large population of deer in that area, so it’s possible, but it’s not confirmed.”

Scott Giacoppo, vide president of external affairs at the Washington Humane Society, also tells DCist that the reported sighting last night is unconfirmed. “We get these reports every fall, but haven’t been able to substantiate them,” he says. The Washington Humane Society has employed professional trackers to find evidence of mountain lions in the D.C. area, but have come up empty thus far. “I can’t say there’s definitely no mountain lions in the area, but also can’t definitely say there is,” Giacoppo says. “Obviously, though, we’re prepared to capture the animal humanely, but there’s just been know evidence other than these reports.”

Regardless, you should probably still keep an eye out. I hear cougars like to hide in cars:

Filed Under: mountain lion, mountain lion sightings, washington humane society,