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Girl, 5, wins staring contest with bobcat in Colorado yard

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April 19 (UPI) -- A pair of Colorado parents said they initially questioned their 5-year-old daughter's story of a staring contest with a bobcat until they checked their home security camera footage.

Eric and Nicole Woodard said their 5-year-old daughter, Rian, came inside their Castle Rock home after playing outside and told her parents she had just encountered a giant cat in their yard.

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"There was no alarm whatsoever of any panic," Eric Woodard told KDVR-TV.

The parents said they assumed Rian must have encountered a large house cat.

"I thought maybe she was just being a little dramatic," Nicole Woodard said.

The parents said their skepticism turned to alarm when they checked the security camera footage from the yard and discovered video of Rian riding her big wheel and coming face to face with a bobcat.

The parents said Rian and the large cat stared at each other for 22 seconds before the wild animal turned and left.

"It seemed like an hour. They locked eyes and just kind of stared at one another," Nicole Woodard said.

The Woodards said Rian didn't seem at all shaken by the encounter.

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"She thinks she's the bobcat whisperer now," the mother said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife said bobcats are found statewide in Colorado, but the animals are "secretive and seldom seen."

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