One morning last week, we were watching the news and saw an interesting item; several DART riders called 911 in a panic, saying that they'd see tigers walking the streets in downtown Dallas. So police ordered one of their helicopters to scope out the area with a spotlight, and the news showed several police cars out there, along with some patrol officers on foot with flashlights.Our conversation in front of the TV went something like this:
James: "Why didn't they just call the zoo and find out if anybody's missing?"
Linda: "So how much did it cost to send out a helicopter?"
James: "I'll bet they're bobcats."
Linda: "Probably, but they don't look anything like tigers. If I was the 911 operator, I'd say, 'are you sure you know what a tiger looks like'?"
Then we started doing the Monty Python routine where Michael Palin wants to be a lion tamer until John Cleese points out that what he's calling a lion is actually an anteater.
Linda: "Call the zoo and see if they're missing an anteater!"
Well, someone finally called the zoo, and no, there were no tigers--or any other animals--missing. Turns out, the cats walking down the street were bobcats.
Then, also last week, we were at a party where a man was talking about a woman across the room wearing "a leopard printed shirt."
The shirt was white with black zebra stripes.
C'mon, people, get your stripes and spots straight, will ya? You're going to drive the police crazy and waste tax dollars that we don't have if you keep calling in reports about tigers on the loose in the city.
We have bobcats in Dallas. They live here, and they were here first. According to this article, bobcats invade urban areas, but it's actually the other way 'round. We've invaded bobcat territory, and put up parking garages and tall buildings where bobcats live. Mostly, they stay hidden like any other cat, but sometimes we see them. When you see one, please don't call 911 saying you saw a tiger, okay?
After that guy called a woman's shirt "leopard print," we decided to do a public service piece called "Know your stripes and spots," to keep the lines clear for real emergencies.
If you think you've seen a tiger walking around downtown Dallas, take a look at the picture at the top of this blog post. That's a tiger.
This is a bobcat:
And, just for the record, women's leopard print tops look something like this:
Zebras are striped like this:
So before calling 911, or attempting to describe a woman's shirt after having consumed quite a few drinks, compare your sighting to the images on this blog. Always glad to help out.
