PLAIN DEALING, La. -- Residents in Plain Dealing are on alert after an unusual animal sighting involving a species not native to Louisiana.
Realtor Tina McKnight Rist was checking on a property listing in Plain Dealing when she came across something unexpected in the roadway.
Rist said she'd been rounding a curve when she first noticed a herd of cows before spotting a much larger animal.
"I noticed them. And then I looked up and I saw something in the road and I was thinking, Is that a Brahma bull? Because I saw the hump. But then when I got closer, I realized that's not a bull. That was not anything that is supposed to be in this part of the world," she said.
The animal was identified as an African eland, a member of the antelope family. Elands can grow to as much as 1,100 pounds.
"He stepped out and started walking across the road and I stopped and I was looking at him. And he didn't act like he was scared of me at all. He was more docile and more like confused, like, you know, what am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? You don't belong in this part of the woods," Rist said.
Since posting about the sighting on Facebook, Rist said she has received numerous messages from people speculating that the eland may have escaped from a game park in or near Springhill.
Elands are capable of jumping about four feet from a standing position, making an escape a possibility.
As far as the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office knows, the animal remains on the loose. Rist said anyone who encounters the eland should not be afraid.
"That was a crazy day. I did not expect it when I started my Monday off to see an exotic animal in Plain Dealing, Louisiana from Africa. I mean, crazy. You just don't ever know what you're going to see," she said.