Cool sighting (wildlife)

[blksn8k]

I spent the last week hunting wild turkeys in Pennsylvania. Didn't have a lot of success but I did see a few birds and got to hear several others. It was right in the peak of their mating season and its a little tough to call the gobblers away from their hens. Anyway, the highlight of the week was on Thursday morning and again on Friday evening. While hunting a particular ridge on Thursday I spotted a bobcat moving along the edge of a field below me. I thought that was pretty cool since I haven't seen one in the wild in several years. That was nothing compared to Friday evening though. I was standing in about the same spot listening for Turkeys to roost in the trees just before dark when I heard a deer snorting at something just over the crest of the hill. I thought it was strange since the wind direction was not likely to have carried my scent to the deer. About fifteen minutes later I just happened glance over my shoulder in the direction of the deer and standing less than twenty yards away was the bobcat. He was looking right at me. There was a ground squirrel between us so I assume he was stalking it but he didn't act frightened at all when I tried to scare him away. He just kind of nonchalantly walked off in the direction of my truck. Too bad I didn't have a camera.

 

[Ryan D]

That's pretty awesome

 

[Larry Phillips]

That's pretty cool! I saw a bobcat once in the wild. I was on my way to work which was out in the middle of the south end of McConnell AFB, and there was one hanging out in a tree.

 

[Wes Davis]

That is cool, are bobcats big enough to attack humans? A few recent deaths out west from mountain lion attacks. In Florida on a remote road I saw a panther cross the road. It was either a very rare Florida panther or one of the panthers from out west introduced into Florida to breed with our Florida panthers.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Me,



Bobcats are small. More like an overgrown housecat. They will not attack a human, per se, but if you startle them or pose a threat to them, you are going to be hurting.



They will not hunt a human.





Tom

 

[EddieS'04]

That was cool..would have liked to have been there..

 

[Ryan D]

wow . .seeing the panther would have been cool . . saw some mountain lions in the past while driving but seeing a panther would be pretty amazing

 

[blksn8k]

I would guess this one weighed less than 30 pounds. Like Tom said, they resemble a large house cat. The biggest difference is that a bobcat has much longer legs and of course a bobbed tail. I also saw a skeleton in the same area that took me awhile to identify. I'm still not 100% certain but I think it might have been a black bear cub. I have no idea how it died but I wouldn't rule out the bobcat.

 

[FlipTrac_511]

Nice story but with no pictures...I dunno.



Just kiddin

 

[blksn8k]

Flip, you can bet I will have my camcorder with me on my next trip to that ridge! Based on the law of averages I doubt I will ever see the bobcat again but who knows, I didn't expect to see it two days in a row either.