LAWTELL, La. – An unusual visitor at Lawtell Elementary on Tuesday afternoon led school administrators to call in Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.
During a P.E. class, students and Coach Jordan Jason spotted a bobcat inside the gymnasium.
"It entered from around here, but we’re not sure exactly how. By the time we saw it, it was near the sports table, then it ran upstairs through the door over there," Jason said.
Officials initially thought it was a house cat.
Lawtell Elementary Principal Alcinda James initially didn’t think much of the sighting. "I just thought it was a wildcat—or maybe even a domesticated cat," James said.
However, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries later confirmed it was a bobcat.
Once the sighting was reported, school officials quickly evacuated students from the gym, and no one was hurt.
"We made sure to secure the area as much as we could and got the kids out," Jason added.
Wildlife and Fisheries searched the school but were unable to locate the bobcat.
"They did a preliminary search of the area but didn’t find anything," James said.
To aid in the search, the school has been connected with two professional animal trappers, who will set tuna-baited traps inside the athletic room, where the bobcat was last seen.
With the bobcat still on the loose, James joked about what could come next.
"Well, we’re the Trojans, and our Eunice schools are the Bobcats—so maybe we can send it back to Eunice!"
The gym will remain closed until the bobcat is captured, and students will have P.E. in the multi-purpose room or outdoors, depending on the weather.
KATC asked the district for school surveillance footage of the animal, but due to district policies, officials declined to release it.
For now, the search continues. Residents who spot the bobcat near Lawtell Elementary are urged not to approach it and to contact Wildlife and Fisheries immediately.
