Bobcats

bullethole1 · July 30, 2011, 01:04 AM

Ive seen several of them around the farm but I only came in contact with one once. It was several years ago I was walking in the brush and I left the shotgun(single shot new england 12 gauge) I had laying on an ice chest before the brush got thick. I was looking for a calf and I came across a bobcat probaly about 10 feet atleast.The cat looked at me and slowly walked off kind off in a marching pace but not running. Are these cats known to be aggressive like mountain lions? I thought Id bring this up since I just remembered it a few minutes ago since another member here was talking about mountain lions on a previous post. Was I lucky or could I have been attacked? Id be more concerned about getting my eyes scratched out than having a bunch of stitches on the belly or back

Thanks,
BH1

Art Eatman · July 30, 2011, 07:02 AM

Under any sort of normal conditions in the outdoors, bobcats go for mice, rabbits and birds such as quail. Yes, they will go for lambs, kids and fawns. I've never heard of them being aggressive toward any large animal.

Animals which have not been hunted are likely to avoid people, but not necessarily in a panic manner.

Wag · July 30, 2011, 08:41 AM

Bobcats are not remotely the same as Cougars (see my post in the other thread). Because they are so much smaller, they don't attack humans. I can't think of a story I've read where a bobcat attacked an adult human. Or even a child, although, if you're in bobcat country, I wouldn't let very small children out of my sight. You never know what an older, hungry cat might do if he's not able to catch his usual prey any more.

Art's comments above were correct.

--Wag--

tahunua001 · July 30, 2011, 05:21 PM

bobcats are much like your average stray cat only twice as big, they'll eat quail, mice, roadkill, and they are usually very wary of people but if you have population problems(which I doubt since it's been years since your last sighting) they'll start going through garbage, chicken coops, and even start going after annoying little chihuahuas. I wouldn't leave a child younger than 4 alone outside but any bigger than that a bobcatll probably run away unless it's starved.

Win73 · August 5, 2011, 11:00 PM

Quote:

I came across a bobcat probaly about 10 feet atleast.

Was the bobcat 10 feet long or was it ten feet away? No bobcat ever even dreamed of being 10 feet long from nose to tip of tail. I'd say none ever made it to even 5 feet. Your typical bobcat is not a whole lot larger than a large house cat. And they don't have much of a tail (thus "Bobcat").

BIGR · August 6, 2011, 04:46 PM

I have taken two in my life time, one in 1982 with a 20 GA. and the other one around the year 1999 with a 12 GA. The one in 1999 weighed about 27 pounds. Both of them are mounted on a board. I have had other opportunities to take one while deer hunting but passed up on the shot. I had pictures of one on the game cam above the house back in the spring. They are pretty sneaky in the woods and can appear out of no where.

SurplusShooter · August 6, 2011, 06:21 PM

I would not be worried a bout being attacked but it could happen if you some how connered it but that is unlikely.

IDAHO83501 · August 6, 2011, 06:47 PM

My experience is that Bobcats are not aggresive twords people.

Old Grump · August 6, 2011, 11:42 PM

Good friends and neighbors of mine got attacked by a bobcat while camping. It latched onto Evelyn's leg and wouldn't let go and the closest thing to a weapon anybody had were their fishing poles that they beat on the cat with. The park ranger went and got an old geezer buddy of his who dispatched it with a 12 gauge, The head tested positive for rabies and it was a long uncomfortable summer for her because the series of shots they had to take in 71 was brutal.

That was the second time in 3 years in that park. I used to camp there myself for the fishing but never saw hide nor hair of any cats. I was a little better prepared than they were because I kept a 22 revolver in my tackle box. Never needed it but it was nice to know it was there if I did.

slammedsi · August 7, 2011, 01:41 AM

"Because they are so much smaller, they don't attack humans. I can't think of a story I've read where a bobcat attacked an adult human."

Wag, That statement is 100% incorrect. I know first hand of 2 attacks on a adult male. Actually the local Game warden was pounced on while turkey hunting. He left the hospital with over 50 stitches. I had one follow me late evening after a deer hunt. It got to the point i had to shoot towards it to get it to back off.

youngunz4life · August 7, 2011, 02:00 AM

West Palm Beach – The search continues for a bobcat that attacked a Florida woman this week. A man on Friday spotted an animal, believed to be the same bobcat that bit the woman in the leg. The woman was attacked at her home on Thursday, and her husband came to the rescue. “It came from the neighbor, jumped his fence, came across the road, bit my wife by the mailbox, jumped my fence, came under here, got my puppy, came in my garage, and attacked my puppy again. I hit it with a four-by-four, and then a broom,” Rick Arnold said. The victim got a series of rabies shots at a hospital, and is now back at home. A wildlife trapper believes they will catch the bobcat this weekend.

I have heard of it before, but couldn't find the article...this one popped up instead

Geezerbiker · August 7, 2011, 03:19 AM

I recall my father trapping a couple on the farm when I was a teenager. I don't remember what the trap looked like but it was set up so the cat would grab the bait and then fall in a way that it's head would get caught in a Vee shaped ware arrangement and be strangled.

After he trapped the 2 bobcats in our area, there were no more attacks on our geese... Although, I'd rather shot the damn geese than the bobcats...

Tony

Old Grump · August 7, 2011, 09:13 AM

Another goose lover I see. I love the idea of them as guard animals, but doggone are they a pain in the tush, literally a pain in the tush. At least I could call the dogs off but them dadburn gooses don't pay much attention to you unless you have food for them.

Come to think of it the dogs didn't like them either. My dog that would go nose to nose with a full grown Holstein bull would stay away from a goose. That was a smart dog.

troopcom · August 7, 2011, 06:52 PM

When I was a kid, a man my grandfather used to talk to in a coffee shop told a story about an evening he was deer hunting. He heard a comotion behind him and low and behold a bobcat. He said he shot it with a 12 ga. shotgun and killed it. He believed it was about to pounce on him.

Hunter Customs · August 7, 2011, 07:30 PM

All the bobcats I've seen were wanting to put as much distance bwteen me and them as they could.
However any animal especially wild animals that's acting strange I would be careful of.

As for the geese, when I was a kid there was a neighbor lady that had a big old gander and he was meaner then heck.
Many a times when I went by her pace that gander would peck me and draw blood every time.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

Wag · August 7, 2011, 08:02 PM

The stories in this thread are the first I've heard of bobcats attacking humans, especially adults. Greatly appreciated.

--Wag--

Alaska444 · August 7, 2011, 08:13 PM

As a doctor, I have seen what a house cat can do to a person and the idea of a house cat on steroids is not one I would want to venture against. I suspect that they are more solitary and discreet than other north American predators and we just don't encounter them that often, but I wouldn't want to tangle with one of those critters.

We had lynx up in the Anchorage area, but I don't recall seeing any bobcats at that time.

Buzzcook · August 8, 2011, 12:09 AM

Bobcats aren't aggressive. They do count as varmints so shoot them.

However make sure it's not a Lynx, those are protected.

BUTCHER45 · August 8, 2011, 09:33 AM

Bobcats in Oregon (and a lot of other states) are furbearers with seasons, and tags required.

rickyrick · August 8, 2011, 02:51 PM

I witnessed a bobcat stalking a guy who was sitting in his truck waiting for a part. As I drove up he left.
I rarely see them, a handfull of bobcats and two mountain lions.

In TX fur bearers can be dispatched as nuisence animals as long as the fur isn't harvested, in other words... they must go to the varmint pile.

Buzzcook · August 8, 2011, 06:35 PM

http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/bobcats.html

Quote:

Legal Status

Washington: Bobcats are classified as game animals and an open season and a hunting license are required to hunt them (WAC 232-12-007). A property owner or the owner’s immediate family, employee, or tenant may kill a bobcat on that property if it is damaging domestic animals (RCW 77.36.030). No permit is required.

The killing of a bobcat in self-defense, or defense of another, should be reasonable and justified. A person taking such action must have reasonable belief that the bobcat poses a threat of serious physical harm, that this harm is imminent, and the action is the only reasonable available means to prevent that harm.

The body of any bobcat, whether taken under the direct authority of RCW 77.36.030, or for the protection of a person, remains the property of the state and must be turned over to the Department of Fish and Wildlife immediately.

Butcher45: Bobcats are game animals and varmints here in Wa. Game animals when you go looking for them; varmints when they come on your property looking for a meal.

RaySendero · August 8, 2011, 06:54 PM

Shot my biggest bobcat in TX several years ago. It, tail to nose, was as long as my tailgate! The K9 teeth and claws were both 3/4" long. The land owner had never seen one that big and had it mounted.

BUTCHER45 · August 8, 2011, 07:02 PM

Yes the regs are different in every state.......that was my point. Thus my response to the generic "they do count as varmints so shoot them" comment. I didn't notice anyone else from Washington in the thread.

Here in Oregon, it is illegal to kill a regulated furbearer (bobcat, raccoon, fox) or game animal (cougar) out of season NO MATTER WHAT. You are expected to sit there and watch it kill your livestock if you see it happening which I find completely ridiculous. I called ODFW and checked on it when I was asked to dispatch problem raccoon out of season.

There was also a rancher in Eastern Oregon that lost a couple dozen lambs to wolves.......his hands were tied. State "reimbursed" him, though.

Art Eatman · August 9, 2011, 07:37 AM

Texas has rules and regs about commercial sale of hides, but private use is not restricted. Shoot, skin hide or have full-body mount: Whatever you want. Same for cougar and coyote.

spclPatrolGroup · August 9, 2011, 09:00 AM

I havent got a bobcat yet, however I was hunting coyotes wtih a little furry decoy. All of a sudden a bobcat ran out from some tall grass behind it, totally not where I was expecting something to come from, grabbed my decoy and then took off like lightning back into some tall grass, never to be seen again. I really didnt expect that to happen, so when it did, I just sat there and watched it happen like an idiot, but in hind sight it all happened so fast I doubt I could have got a very good shot off.

July 30, 2011, 01:04 AM	#1
bullethole1 Junior member Join Date: June 8, 2011 Location: San Antonio , Texas Posts: 253	Bobcats Ive seen several of them around the farm but I only came in contact with one once. It was several years ago I was walking in the brush and I left the shotgun(single shot new england 12 gauge) I had laying on an ice chest before the brush got thick. I was looking for a calf and I came across a bobcat probaly about 10 feet atleast.The cat looked at me and slowly walked off kind off in a marching pace but not running. Are these cats known to be aggressive like mountain lions? I thought Id bring this up since I just remembered it a few minutes ago since another member here was talking about mountain lions on a previous post. Was I lucky or could I have been attacked? Id be more concerned about getting my eyes scratched out than having a bunch of stitches on the belly or back Thanks, BH1

July 30, 2011, 08:41 AM	#3
Wag Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2010 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 988	Bobcats are not remotely the same as Cougars (see my post in the other thread). Because they are so much smaller, they don't attack humans. I can't think of a story I've read where a bobcat attacked an adult human. Or even a child, although, if you're in bobcat country, I wouldn't let very small children out of my sight. You never know what an older, hungry cat might do if he's not able to catch his usual prey any more. Art's comments above were correct. --Wag-- __________________ "Great genius will always encounter fierce opposition from mediocre minds." --Albert Einstein.

July 30, 2011, 05:21 PM	#4
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	bobcats are much like your average stray cat only twice as big, they'll eat quail, mice, roadkill, and they are usually very wary of people but if you have population problems(which I doubt since it's been years since your last sighting) they'll start going through garbage, chicken coops, and even start going after annoying little chihuahuas. I wouldn't leave a child younger than 4 alone outside but any bigger than that a bobcatll probably run away unless it's starved. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

August 6, 2011, 06:47 PM	#8
IDAHO83501 Senior Member Join Date: March 2, 2009 Location: Lewiston, Idaho Posts: 337	My experience is that Bobcats are not aggresive twords people. __________________ The next time someone asks you " What do you know ? " Respond with a smile and say " A frogs ass is water-tight."

August 6, 2011, 11:42 PM	#9
Old Grump Member in memoriam Join Date: April 9, 2009 Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in Posts: 3,144	Good friends and neighbors of mine got attacked by a bobcat while camping. It latched onto Evelyn's leg and wouldn't let go and the closest thing to a weapon anybody had were their fishing poles that they beat on the cat with. The park ranger went and got an old geezer buddy of his who dispatched it with a 12 gauge, The head tested positive for rabies and it was a long uncomfortable summer for her because the series of shots they had to take in 71 was brutal. That was the second time in 3 years in that park. I used to camp there myself for the fishing but never saw hide nor hair of any cats. I was a little better prepared than they were because I kept a 22 revolver in my tackle box. Never needed it but it was nice to know it was there if I did. __________________ Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. --Daniel Webster--

July 30, 2011, 07:02 AM	#2
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Under any sort of normal conditions in the outdoors, bobcats go for mice, rabbits and birds such as quail. Yes, they will go for lambs, kids and fawns. I've never heard of them being aggressive toward any large animal. Animals which have not been hunted are likely to avoid people, but not necessarily in a panic manner.

August 6, 2011, 04:46 PM	#6
BIGR Senior Member Join Date: June 13, 2000 Location: Mountains Posts: 1,385	I have taken two in my life time, one in 1982 with a 20 GA. and the other one around the year 1999 with a 12 GA. The one in 1999 weighed about 27 pounds. Both of them are mounted on a board. I have had other opportunities to take one while deer hunting but passed up on the shot. I had pictures of one on the game cam above the house back in the spring. They are pretty sneaky in the woods and can appear out of no where.

August 6, 2011, 06:21 PM	#7
SurplusShooter Senior Member Join Date: July 3, 2011 Location: Upstate,New york Posts: 308	I would not be worried a bout being attacked but it could happen if you some how connered it but that is unlikely.

August 7, 2011, 02:00 AM	#11
youngunz4life Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2010 Location: United States of America Posts: 1,877	this is article's origin Florida 03/05/11 14wfie.com: West Palm Beach – The search continues for a bobcat that attacked a Florida woman this week. A man on Friday spotted an animal, believed to be the same bobcat that bit the woman in the leg. The woman was attacked at her home on Thursday, and her husband came to the rescue. “It came from the neighbor, jumped his fence, came across the road, bit my wife by the mailbox, jumped my fence, came under here, got my puppy, came in my garage, and attacked my puppy again. I hit it with a four-by-four, and then a broom,” Rick Arnold said. The victim got a series of rabies shots at a hospital, and is now back at home. A wildlife trapper believes they will catch the bobcat this weekend. I have heard of it before, but couldn't find the article...this one popped up instead __________________ "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" -Admiral Farragut @ Battle of Mobile Bay 05AUG1864

August 7, 2011, 03:19 AM	#12
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	I recall my father trapping a couple on the farm when I was a teenager. I don't remember what the trap looked like but it was set up so the cat would grab the bait and then fall in a way that it's head would get caught in a Vee shaped ware arrangement and be strangled. After he trapped the 2 bobcats in our area, there were no more attacks on our geese... Although, I'd rather shot the damn geese than the bobcats... Tony

August 7, 2011, 09:13 AM	#13
Old Grump Member in memoriam Join Date: April 9, 2009 Location: Blue River Wisconsin, in Posts: 3,144	Another goose lover I see. I love the idea of them as guard animals, but doggone are they a pain in the tush, literally a pain in the tush. At least I could call the dogs off but them dadburn gooses don't pay much attention to you unless you have food for them. Come to think of it the dogs didn't like them either. My dog that would go nose to nose with a full grown Holstein bull would stay away from a goose. That was a smart dog. __________________ Good intentions will always be pleaded for any assumption of power. The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern will, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. --Daniel Webster--

August 7, 2011, 06:52 PM	#14
troopcom Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2011 Posts: 230	When I was a kid, a man my grandfather used to talk to in a coffee shop told a story about an evening he was deer hunting. He heard a comotion behind him and low and behold a bobcat. He said he shot it with a 12 ga. shotgun and killed it. He believed it was about to pounce on him.

August 7, 2011, 07:30 PM	#15
Hunter Customs Senior Member Join Date: March 26, 2005 Location: Osborn, Missouri Posts: 2,697	All the bobcats I've seen were wanting to put as much distance bwteen me and them as they could. However any animal especially wild animals that's acting strange I would be careful of. As for the geese, when I was a kid there was a neighbor lady that had a big old gander and he was meaner then heck. Many a times when I went by her pace that gander would peck me and draw blood every time. Best Regards Bob Hunter www.huntercustoms.com

August 7, 2011, 08:02 PM	#16
Wag Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2010 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 988	The stories in this thread are the first I've heard of bobcats attacking humans, especially adults. Greatly appreciated. --Wag-- __________________ "Great genius will always encounter fierce opposition from mediocre minds." --Albert Einstein.

August 7, 2011, 08:13 PM	#17
Alaska444 Junior member Join Date: April 3, 2010 Posts: 1,231	As a doctor, I have seen what a house cat can do to a person and the idea of a house cat on steroids is not one I would want to venture against. I suspect that they are more solitary and discreet than other north American predators and we just don't encounter them that often, but I wouldn't want to tangle with one of those critters. We had lynx up in the Anchorage area, but I don't recall seeing any bobcats at that time.

August 8, 2011, 12:09 AM	#18
Buzzcook Senior Member Join Date: November 29, 2007 Location: Everett, WA Posts: 6,126	Bobcats aren't aggressive. They do count as varmints so shoot them. However make sure it's not a Lynx, those are protected.

August 8, 2011, 09:33 AM	#19
BUTCHER45 Member Join Date: June 30, 2008 Posts: 46	Bobcats in Oregon (and a lot of other states) are furbearers with seasons, and tags required.

August 8, 2011, 02:51 PM	#20
rickyrick Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2010 Posts: 8,238	I witnessed a bobcat stalking a guy who was sitting in his truck waiting for a part. As I drove up he left. I rarely see them, a handfull of bobcats and two mountain lions. In TX fur bearers can be dispatched as nuisence animals as long as the fur isn't harvested, in other words... they must go to the varmint pile. __________________ Woohoo, I’m back In Texas!!!

August 8, 2011, 06:54 PM	#22
RaySendero Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2010 Location: US South Posts: 857	Shot my biggest bobcat in TX several years ago. It, tail to nose, was as long as my tailgate! The K9 teeth and claws were both 3/4" long. The land owner had never seen one that big and had it mounted.

August 8, 2011, 07:02 PM	#23
BUTCHER45 Member Join Date: June 30, 2008 Posts: 46	Yes the regs are different in every state.......that was my point. Thus my response to the generic "they do count as varmints so shoot them" comment. I didn't notice anyone else from Washington in the thread. Here in Oregon, it is illegal to kill a regulated furbearer (bobcat, raccoon, fox) or game animal (cougar) out of season NO MATTER WHAT. You are expected to sit there and watch it kill your livestock if you see it happening which I find completely ridiculous. I called ODFW and checked on it when I was asked to dispatch problem raccoon out of season. There was also a rancher in Eastern Oregon that lost a couple dozen lambs to wolves.......his hands were tied. State "reimbursed" him, though.

August 9, 2011, 07:37 AM	#24
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Texas has rules and regs about commercial sale of hides, but private use is not restricted. Shoot, skin hide or have full-body mount: Whatever you want. Same for cougar and coyote.

August 9, 2011, 09:00 AM	#25
spclPatrolGroup Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2010 Location: North Dakota Posts: 349	I havent got a bobcat yet, however I was hunting coyotes wtih a little furry decoy. All of a sudden a bobcat ran out from some tall grass behind it, totally not where I was expecting something to come from, grabbed my decoy and then took off like lightning back into some tall grass, never to be seen again. I really didnt expect that to happen, so when it did, I just sat there and watched it happen like an idiot, but in hind sight it all happened so fast I doubt I could have got a very good shot off.