LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Every now and then, you hear of an exotic animal sighting -- an alligator, a lion or a bobcat.

In west Lawrence, right around where a new housing development meets the wilderness, residents are concerned with something -- perhaps a bobcat, KMBC's Lara Moritz reported.

Residents there say a 75-pound animal has been prowling the neighborhood and there is concern that neither people nor pets are safe as long as it is around.

Alice Summers said that she saw something recently -- something with pointed ears, long legs, big feet and defined waist and chest. It's a bobcat, she says. She originally thought it was a mountain lion, but was quickly told by a University of Kansas professor that mountain lions are extinct in Kansas.

It has done little to soothe Summers or her dog, Rocky, who despite weighing just 5 pounds, is ready to protect his turf.

"Rocky just started barking, a real aggressive bark," Summers said. "I think he was trying to take him on."

Summers is one of two residents of the housing development that has seen the animal. Now, she's just searching for answers on how to get rid of it.

"I called police, sheriff and then I called the guy Topeka told me to call," she said.

Animal control crews have been out, but have found no sign of the bobcat. They do advise that anyone who comes in contact with the critter should stay away. They also say to keep children and pets away.

In the meantime, a concerned Summers will continue her search and she hopes that eventually the animal will be removed from the neighborhood, after all, wildcats are not necessarily welcomed in the land of Jayhawks.

"If we'd wanted to see a bunch of wildcats, we would've moved to Manhattan," Summers said.