Bobcat eats family pet, captured and released.

[Liberal_in_LA]

I'm glad the bobcat wasn't euthanized. She needs to keep her rabbits locked up.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/us/2012/12/09/ca-ritchie-bobcat-captured.kmph

California woman was shocked when she found a bobcat eating her pet rabbit outside her window.

-----------------


Bobcat In The City, Kills Family Pet

"Right in the middle of the city in Fresno, having a bobcat in your front yard is just amazing," Naomi Hendrix said.

Hendrix couldn't believe her eyes when she walked outside her Tower District home Thursday morning to see what was causing so much noise.

"It was 32 inches or so long and I would say probably 17, 18 inches tall," Hendrix said. "I first knew it had to be a bobcat because it was so big. But it looked just like a cat though."

It didn't sound like a cat though.

"That's when I really realized, I knew it had to be a wild animal because it growled this humongous, really deep, low growl to my cat," Hendrix said.

In the bobcat's mouth was Naomi's pet rabbit. He'd killed it just moments earlier.

------------------------------

The SPCA eventually did come out and the Department of Fish and Game trapped the one-year-old bobcat, used a tranquillizer and took it back to its office.

Around 3:30 Thursday afternoon, it was released back into the wild in northeast Fresno County.

Naomi tells KMPH News, the Department of Fish and Game told her, the bobcat more than likely targeted her house because it could smell her animals and the compost she uses to feed them and for her garden.

She says she'll probably get another rabbit to keep the other one that wasn't hurt company

http://www.kmph.com/story/20283473/bobcat-in-the-city-kills-family-pet

[TDale313]

1. Sad about the bunny, but

What a gorgeous creature. Glad it didn't have to be destroyed.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. I know it isn't, but it looks so innocent and cuddly.

Cats are just beautiful all the way around.

[Bake]

104. That cuddly little critter would rip you to shreds!

Not to be messed with! But you know that already!



Bake

[didact]

110. We must eradicate this evil Bobcat threat to keep our Bunnies safe!

[randomtagger]

122. Awww.

Awww, the bobcat is cute, so we can't kill it. On the other hand, if a snake killed the rabbit, everyone would be trying to kill it.

[AldoLeopold]

2. Thank goodness for that

I don't know what makes California so freaking awesome - but I'm glad that you are.

Stay classy, California.

[liberal_at_heart]

3. I caught a glimpse of one in my neighborhood once

They are beautiful. That had to be horrible to see one's pet being eaten though.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. Beautiful creature doing what comes naturally to it.

I'm glad to hear it was set free again.

[freshwest]

10. Also. And the bob cat eats wild rabbits, so that's how it goes.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. Yep. A rabbit to a bobcat is a much needed meal.

Which was why I'd have hated to see it either lose it's freedom, or worse have been euthanized, for being a hungry creature eating a common meal.

[freshwest]

21. I'm really glad that the owner, etc., understood that as well.

Too bad for the pet, but it's one of those things. I had a pet rabbit that I bought and it had always been kept in a cage off the ground. So I had a moveable one that I set on the grass and the rabbit was thrilled to be outside and in the grass.

I had to keep it in the cage because the area had a lot of coyotes and bobcats other animals that would found it to be fine meal. I had some cats and they'd love to rub noses with it.

Somehow it got out of the cage one day when I wasn't watching and that was the last I saw of it. I don't think it turned out too well, too. But it enjoyed itself for a while.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

38. I'm sorry about your pet.

I imagine it lived the rest of its life like a wild rabbit would have.

I had an owl we'd rescued from a cat as a fledgling. It was nothing but a puff of down when when we found it. The Parks & Wildlife people explained what we should feed it and said it wouldn't survive if we released it back into the wild. They also didn't think it would survive if we kept it, but she did.

It broke my heart when she'd hear the other wild owls outside and be answering their romantic calls. She never had a mate and every year at mating season she yearned to be the free wild creature she was born to be. At least your bunny had that taste of freedom my owl never knew.

[beam me up scottie]

6. If she thought the growling was scary wait until she hears one shriek like a woman being murdered.

Makes your hair stand on end it does...

[obamanut2012]

15. It does, doesn't it?

Being outside with the dogs at night and hearing that is something else, even though I know the bobcat won't hurt us. The dogs are 3+ times bigger, and it even freaks them out!

[beam me up scottie]

23. It's always fun to see who can get into the house first, isn't it?

My horses are great backup when I'm investigating strange goings-on at night. They follow me like Scooby and Scrappy Doo (so close they actually bump into me when I stop) until we hear or see something close and then they're gone.

[freshwest]

41. Well, that's good horse sense there. Why don't you run away with them?

[beam me up scottie]

45. There I stand, flashlight on the fritz, waiting to be taken out by a werewolf or zombie...

And I'm like oh, okay, so that's how it is...

[freshwest]

52. Yeah, I know how that goes. But you'll survive...

[beam me up scottie]

55. Now I can't get that song out of my head...

RIP, Freddie, you are missed.

[obamanut2012]

85. hahaha seriously!

I'm always like, "Okay, lets go in!" Just in case it's not a bobcat and is an alien or crazy meth labber instead.

[Cleita]

113. I once saw a hawk murder a bat. I will never forget the bat's dying screams.

[beam me up scottie]

115. Wow, that must have been some showdown.

That's absolutely incredible, I've seen a lot of things but I could live a thousand years and never see that.

[Cleita]

118. The hawk must have been hungry because he pulled the sleeping bat out of the

tree he was roosting in. The bat got away but the hawk was too fast for him and took him down screaming. It was awful.

[beam me up scottie]

120. Yeah, nature is brutal.

I wish you didn't have to see that.

[TexasProgresive]

7. It doesn't concern the SPCA that she feeds animals compost?

Does anyone ever read and correct this crap before it goes out?

[Scootaloo]

59. Rabbits are coprophages

Trust me, they'd had worse things in their mouth

[former-republican]

8. Cat had rabies

[kestrel91316]

11. Bulls--t. And yes, I am an expert.

[mike_c]

17. +1

Dispersing first year male. Glad he ran into decent wildlife management folks instead of trigger happy deputies!

Yum, yard rabbit!

[flvegan]

33. Dammit, really? Twice kestrel?

Stop making me agree with you.

[kestrel91316]

73. (snort)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. Nonsense. Bobcats eat rabbits, and this one found an easy catch.

Normal bobcat behavior.

[former-republican]

18. It's not normal in the daytime

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

22. Cats are opportunistic hunters.

Although cats tend to be most active at dawn and twilight, they hunt any time of day, whenever they notice the presence of prey. All cats will hunt in broad daylight if that's when they can find food. There's nothing strange about a bobcat catching a rabbit during the day. Also, and more importantly, if the cat had been rabid the animal control people who tranquilized and captured it would have noticed other symptoms and would not have set it free.

[snooper2]

72. neither are vampires but that doesn't stop some of them

[kestrel91316]

74. BS. People in my area see bobcats out prowling in the daytime all the time.

[former-republican]

80. All the time? sorry don't believe it

[obamanut2012]

86. Then I guess you think I'm a liar

[former-republican]

88. why would you say that?

[kestrel91316]

124. Well, then don't. But they are all over the place in neighborhoods

here south of Ventura Blvd. They come down from the Santa Monica Mountains, just like the coyotes and mountain lions.

Are you SERIOUSLY calling me a liar?? I guess you are, and I am also guessing that the first half of your name is not quite the truth.

[former-republican]

128. No sir I am not calling you or anyone else a liar

It is not a common as you seem to imply .
You said people see them all the time everywhere.

If it was as common as that it wouldn't make the news.
That would be like a news story in my neck of the woods reporting a whitetail deer in someones back yard.

You wouldn't see that where I live because here people do see them all the time.
Even black bears around here doesn't make a news story .
They are common to see.






LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Residents of the Hollywood Hills are being warned of a bobcat on the prowl in the neighborhood


http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=7763865

[montanto]

79. I've seen bobcats

in the middle of the day on many occasions while hiking just outside of Los Angeles.

[former-republican]

87. I've seen them also in their natural habitat during the day and consider that very fortunate

Break it down a little for me.
You hike maybe how many times a year?
25 , 50 , 100 ?

In all those hikes you were fortunate enough to spy a bobcat in it's natural habitat during the day maybe 3 or 4 times.

That I believe.

I know deer hunters that spend weeks on end in the woods and can also be fortunate enough
to see a bobcat prowling down a game trail in the day time. It is a rare occasion. I know some that have never seen one or a fisher cat during the day.

When I hiked the Appalachian trail we spent 40 days in the woods, that particular hike I didn't see one.


People have a tendency to use the term "all the time" when in fact it's not all the time

[montanto]

92. I said "many occassions."

I've seen half a dozen cats on fewer than thirty hikes that were less than five miles from the city. Last Thursday I came home early (4:00 p.m., broad daylight) and found a coyote standing in my driveway. I live 10 minutes from downtown LA, on a busy street, in a densely populated part of town. I hear coyotes almost nightly. Sunday, I went for a hike in Griffith park. My friends and I went to the Roosevelt cafe (at the golf course). While we were eating breakfast (about 11:00 am, broad daylight) I noticed a dog following some golfers. It dawned on me slowly that it was odd that there was a loose dog on the course, and that it wasn't just a dog, but a coyote. It followed the golfers at about ten paces for five minutes or so. The grounds keeper finally came out in a cart and chased it away. Wild animals that live in or near the city behave differently, and I see them quite frequently. Two coyotes in the heart of Los Angeles in three or four days is fairly frequent, but not, as you say, "all the time." Same with the cats. Point is, they are often enough out in broad daylight.

[former-republican]

108. When you say you saw a half dozen cats in 30 hikes during the day

How do you mean you saw them?

You were hiking along a hiking path and the cat was sitting on a rock?
You saw the cat on top of a ridge line ?
You saw the cat chasing down prey?

I think for a person to see a bob cat during the day 6 times out of less than 30 hikes is not the norm.

Consider your self fortunate

[mike_c]

97. cats with stable, resource rich territories tend to be nocturnal...

...because they can, and because nocturnal hunting reduces their foraging risks. But dispersing young males like this one often don't have well defined territories and so must be very much more opportunistic. This cat was captured, handled, and examined by wildlife control officials. It was likely healthy.

[backscatter712]

78. Kitty was doing what kitties do.

Granted, this kitty isn't a housecat, but all cats hunt, or at least want to hunt.

[obamanut2012]

13. Bobcats are wild animals

They eat rabbits.

Hell, a domestic cat eats bunnies.

[Arugula Latte]

77. My cats are a bit afraid of our bunny (who is a very friendly little chap)

He kind of freaks them out -- they can't quite figure out the weird guy with the long ears.

[backscatter712]

82. I've heard of housecats killing and eating rabbits.

I'd think that a rabbit would be too big for a housecat, but some cats seem to think of that as a challenge.

[agent46]

9. We've pushed them out of their habitat

Wild animals are now adapting to cities and suburbs. Sad.

[ellenfl]

19. we have a bobcat in our small beach community in northern palm beach county.

it's a very populated area but the cat seems to have found some space to exist. we used to have a red fox as well but i have not seen it in a long time. one of our police officers also advised that we have a couple of coyotes in town. as an amateur wildlife photographer, i'm dying to catch the critters on 'film'.

[Xithras]

93. That's not exactly the problem.

I live in the CV about 90 minutes north of where this happened. There are still plenty of bobcats in the Valley, and there's far more open land than developed land. In fact, less than 10% of the Central Valley's overall land is "developed". Most of it is farms.

The real problem is twofold:
1) Valley farmers use lots of insecticides and rodenticides, which reduces the populations of the bobcats native foods like ground mice, squirrels, and birds. Ecologically, modern farms tend to be fairly barren monoculture where nothing lives or grows other than the farmers intended crop (us environmentalists in the CV like to poke fun at our vegan friends over the fact that local cattle ranches usually have the most natural and ecologically diverse habitats, while vegetable farms are habitat killers...save a hawk, eat a hamburger.)

2) City animals are easy prey. They aren't used to dealing with predators, and are too dumb to run.

If you're a wild animal, and the nice humans are providing you an easy meal in one place while wiping out your native food sources in another, what would YOU do?

[obamanut2012]

14. I love bobcats, and have seen many quite close

They look like biggish cats, although Maine Coons are usually bigger.

Laying in bed at night with the windows open, enjoying the quiet, when a bobcat screech cuts through the night. Just eerie and cool.

Love 'em.

[former-republican]

20. I've seen bob cats ,fisher cats , beavers , bears , pretty much every animal that is regional to our

area. I live just south of you.

How many bob cats have you seen in the middle of the day come up to your house.
Take down a family pet eat it and then after just stay around and hiss at people like in the OP's story?

I have seen plenty of wild life and when it acts like the cat in the story something is wrong with the cat.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. Don't you think the animal experts who caught it would have noticed

if the cat showed symptoms of illness? Since they actually *had* the animal and were able to observe it, clearly they were able to determine it was healthy or they would not have released it back into the wild.

[TDale313]

26. Agreed. n/t

[former-republican]

27. I've met some so called animal experts that work for the DEP and local agencies

I wasn't impressed.

[TDale313]

25. Jmo, but I think...

it's possible the only thing wrong is hunger and a wild cat that had lost some of its fear of humans.

[former-republican]

29. My opinion and it's worth as much as anyone else's on the internet

I have spent half my life in the outdoors and my thought is something is wrong with the cat.
You are welcome to disagree with me.

[beam me up scottie]

28. We've seen them come out during the day to stalk the birds people feed in their yards.

One mother cat was filmed with her cubs many times just a few miles from a major metropolitan area. Soccer moms were all freaking claiming it would eat their kids.

Coyotes are commonly seen in the daytime too.

[former-republican]

31. two things can distinguish rabies by actions , the only sure way to know is to kill the animal and

test it's brain , one being overly aggressive or a wild animal appearing not to be aggressive.

We had a coyote come to our field and it looked like it wanted to be petted

You look for actions that aren't normal for the creature in question.

Could the cat be not infected ? sure possibility

Holding it a few hours as they did is impossible to tell.

[beam me up scottie]

32. "You look for actions that aren't normal for the creature in question."

Animals that have been displaced by new housing developments don't act anything like their wilder rural relatives.

After a few generations they either lose their fear of humans or die of starvation.

Hell, I live way out in the country and when I whistle for my horses a pack of coyotes that lives just across the road answer me in chorus.

[Luminous Animal]

30. Suburban & city animal behave differently from rural animals...

The raccoons in San Francisco, though usually active at night, will sometimes forage during the day. Odd thing, the cats & raccoons act as though they can't see each other. I've seen raccoon kits playing 4-5 feet from sleeping cats and I once watched a raccoon come through the cat door at the same time one of my cats was leaving the cat door.

[former-republican]

34. Again I will say when you see a raccoon during the day the chances it has rabies is greatly amplified

And they are a carrier.

Through your cat door!
I hope it was just a baby racoon.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. I see raccoons in broad daylight pretty often in the city.

I doubt very much they're all rabid. Living around humans alters wild animals' behaviors to some extent.

[former-republican]

40. I didn't say all of them are but the chances many of them are is pretty factual

Raccoons are notorious as a carrier.

[Art_from_Ark]

49. Raccoons are opportunists

The raccoons in Stanley Park in Vancouver, B.C., for example, are active during the daytime, because that's when the humans who feed them goodies are active.

As Wiki notes: "Since healthy animals, especially nursing mothers, will occasionally forage during the day, daylight activity is not a reliable indicator of illness in raccoons.[81]"

[former-republican]

54. You completely took the wild equation out of it

People are feeding them every day at the same time.

Not the same thing that I'm talking about.

[Art_from_Ark]

57. Nonetheless, the Wiki article notes that daylight activity

is not a reliable indicator of illness in raccoons.

As Wild, Wild World of Animals noted nearly 40 years ago.

Skunks, on the other hand, are a different story.

[former-republican]

61. I never said it was the only indicator , I said chances are when you see any wild

nocturnal creature during the day that is an indicator. But as I said in my other posts "you have to factor in a few things".

Could the animal be not infected ? sure

Please don't get me started on skunks.
I have one dog that has been sprayed 3 times in the last 2 of years.
He just seeks them out.

[Luminous Animal]

47. Nope big ole fat one! And passing through with a big ole cat.

I think with city raccoons they've learned that there is more opportunity to scavenge during the day. Most restaurants will have their bins locked at night, but during the day, they will leave them unlocked and opened to make it easier to dump while prepping. They started coming into the house during the afternoon because I used leave the cat door open during the day. I still leave the cat door during the day, but I put the cat food away and only feed the cats when the door is closed.

[Common Sense Party]

109. I had two little raccoons in my tree, eating berries

right outside my front window--about two months ago, broad daylight.

Granted, they ate the berries and then napped, all while hanging in the tree.

[beam me up scottie]

35. When we lived in the city the stray cats and opossums would dine together out of the same dish.

And you're right, they completely ignored each other.

[jackbenimble]

60. I've seen that.

There was a stray kitten I was trying to feed so I could eventually catch it and I kept thinking she ate an enormous amount of food for such a small thing. Then one day I looked outside to see her and a opossum eating out of the same dish. I tried putting her food up high thinking maybe the possum wouldn't be able to get to it, only to see it taking a can of food away from her on top of the workbench. I decided to just feed her when I could be out there with her and not leave food out. She didn't seem to mind either way.

The cat has moved on to a good home. I think the opossum still hangs out under my deck and steals my dog's chew bones.

[beam me up scottie]

62. There was a really big one we named 'Bubba' who lived under our neighbor's house.

The neighbor didn't like Bubba and wanted my bf to help kill him by shooting into the space under their living room.

I explained to him that the only thing worse than having a huge opossum living under your house was having a huge dead opossum decaying under there in the summertime.

He wasn't very bright.

[montanto]

81. I've seen outdoor cats and skunks eating out of the same dish

in LA.

[beam me up scottie]

84. Very very careful cats.

"Whatever you do Fluffy, do not, I repeat, do NOT sneeze!"

[TDale313]

36. Yep.

And even though it's not precisely urban, look how adaptable wildlife like bears in places like Yosemite are. Put wild animals in different circumstances, especially where they come in contact with humans (and their food, and pets) and their behavior's gonna change.

[slackmaster]

43. YES, that is true. I have seen coyotes strolling in the open in broad daylight here in San Diego.

That's something you would almost never seen in the back country.

[former-republican]

44. I've seen it also where I live . I said I even had one come up to the back of house

in broad daylight.

It should be a warning sign.

[slackmaster]

48. It's certainly not normal behavior for a wild nocturnal predator

My dad spent much of his youth up in the mountains of eastern San Diego County. He and his brothers hunted for subsistence. My dad told me that he often heard coyotes at dusk and at night, but never saw one. Not once in many years of rural living.

[former-republican]

51. And it's not normal what this wild bob cat did

Not so much the killing of the rabbit , that is normal

It's a factor of things you add together

hunting during the day , killing your prey, but staying around after with humans facing them off hissing at them.

That cat should have been gone. It acted out of the norm for a bob cat .
They are very secretive and beautiful creatures.

That's why most are never spotted even though they live close to people.

[slackmaster]

53. I've seen a bobcat in the wild only once in my life

It was crossing a highway at night, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

I know people who have stumbled on them while hiking in the desert.

I've never seen a mountain lion in the wild.

[TDale313]

58. You don't think...

A wild cat would stand its ground to protect a meal? Especially if it's hungry enough and has seen enough people to decide they're only mildly a threat? Really not trying to be argumentative, it just honestly doesn't feel that strange to me, especially if for some reason it was not easy or practical to take the rabbit with him.

[former-republican]

63. It could easily take the carcass with it , they are pretty strong creatures

From the video the rabbit was pretty much gone expect for the pelt.

This didn't happen in just a few minutes , she didn't get some out there for a while.
At first animal control didn't believe her and didn't send anyone out.

[Ikonoklast]

105. You keep repeating that bobcats do not hunt in daylight, when it just is not true.

They are seen hunting during the daylight hours, as bobcats are crepescular, hunting primarily in evening twilight into dark, and early morning into daylight hours.

[former-republican]

112. "No" I said it's not normal to see a bob cat hunt during the day.

They usually never do . If you see one hunting and bringing down prey during the mid day as this cat did , consider your self fortunate. From the story this was not early morning 1/2 before sun rise. This was a midday kill in a populated neighbor hood.
It also hung around from what the story says for hours. And it hung around while humans approached it.. Not normal...


If you have seen cats killing and hunting prey during the day consider your self very fortunate to witness something like that.

I have watched cat stalk a flock of wild turkeys once across an open field after sunset. The turkeys were headed to go roosting .
I didn't see or hear the kill.

[Ikonoklast]

114. See YouTube.

There are quite a few vids of bobcats being bobcats, in the middle of the day.

[former-republican]

117. I give up

My experience comes not from you tube videos or hiking a few times a year.

I spent my life in the woods.

If you do watch some of the videos posted you will see the person that did film it will usually say it was the first time they saw one in the day time.
Wild cats are secretive creatures that avoid human contact.

but hell what do I know, I'm just a guy on the internet.

[janx]

68. Coyotes?

They'll trot around in the daytime.

[obamanut2012]

83. They comke around teh house in the day a lot

They growl and hiss or just chill, depending on the day. They don't mess with the dogs, and the dogs leave them alone, and my cats are indoor kitties (coyotes, etc.).

The poor thing was probably hungry.

[jmowreader]

39. The city code enforcement officials will be at Naomi's house tomorrow

According to http://fresnofamily.com/local/city-ordinances-guide-info/, rabbits are not allowed in residentially-zoned districts and maximum permissible fence heights are three feet in front of the house, six on sides and back.

According to the linked article, Naomi has rabbits and ten-foot fences.

[slackmaster]

42. She keeps rabbits in a yard that wild animals can get into?

Not smart. Domestic rabbits are defenseless and need to be kept in cages or indoors.

[1StrongBlackMan]

46. I haven't read through the responses to this thread; but this ...

the bobcat more than likely targeted her house because it could smell her animals ...

I have three poodles, and I know we have Bob Cats that roam the neighorhood ... One got our neighbor's cat.

But can the cats distinguish between poodle poop (i.e., a pretty easy meal, to be followed and stalked) and the poop of a Bull Mastiff, a less easy meal, to be avoided?

[beam me up scottie]

50. Cats don't hunt by tracking scat.

They stalk their prey. Pretty sure the Bull Mastiff would be quite safe.

[Xithras]

89. I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Once had the displeasure of seeing the aftermath of a pit mix and a bobcat mixup. The bobcat was injured but escaped. The pit mix survived, but was so badly torn up that it's owners had to put it to sleep. We have a lot of bobs here in the Central Valley, and it's not an uncommon mistake for rural dogs to make. They'll see a bobcat, take off after it like it's any other cat, and then be caught completely off guard when the bobcat turns and fights like the predator it is.

Bobcats won't typically kill a larger dog. Instead, they try to injure them seriously enough that they can't pursue, and then the bobcat will take off. They can do a massive amount of damage in the attempt though.

[beam me up scottie]

90. I believe you.

We are fostering a pit mix that got beat up by our 8 month old kitten. He didn't know what hit him.

He's sleeping on the porch now, we can't keep him in the house, obviously, I hope he finds a home soon.

[hunter]

116. Bobcats are tough.

We adopted a toothless old hunting dog from the animal shelter. She's the sweetest dog in the world but still thinks it's her duty to hunt. She refuses to accept retirement.

The first time we let her loose in the wild she went after a big wild boar. She chased the monster right into me. I was armed with a rake. The dog probably thought I was holding a gun. Fortunately the pig got away and nobody was injured badly. Our sleep-on-the-bed all day suburban dog did cut herself running away from the fight. I'll never forget her yelp of terror when she saw the angry hog. It was like, "AGGGGGHHHHH, YOU FOOL!!! YOU MADE IT ANGRY!!!! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!" At the same time hunting dog was singing with joy as she nipped at the pig's rear end.

The second time we let hunting dog loose in the wild she went after a bobcat. The bobcat almost scalped her before it got away unharmed. The wound was gruesome, like something you'd see in a butcher shop. Here's a picture of the scar:



This dog still can't figure out why I didn't shoot the critters she flushed out for me. She is eternally grateful we rescued her from the shelter but she thinks we are utterly incompetent in the field. But I'm not letting her loose again. She might bring back a bear.

I'm glad they let this bobcat go. It was just being a bobcat. We had a pet rabbit years ago that we let roam in the backyard. One day I looked out the window and there was a red tail hawk standing on the handlebars of my kid's bicycle, and the rabbit was cowering underneath. It was a big rabbit and I think the hawk wasn't sure it could carry it. Or maybe the hawk just wasn't hungry enough.

After that I didn't leave the rabbit out unsupervised.

[Xithras]

119. Lol, sounds like you've got a great old dog.

I had to give up most of my dogs not that long ago, but I still have my old trained Labrador birder. She hasn't been hunting in over 5 years, but she still perks up whenever she sees a bird. She's got hip problems and can barely walk, but if I pull my shotgun out to clean it, she'll go sit by the door and look at me like she's waiting to go hunting again.

The joy of the hunt never leaves a hunting dog. I doubt she has a year left in her, and it's going to break my heart when she goes. I don't hunt at all anymore, but if I could figure out a way to take her hunting one last time, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

[beam me up scottie]

121. LMAO!

What a great story, thank you for making me laugh.

And thank you for rescuing an old dog from certain death at the shelter.

[former-republican]

64. Are you sure it was a bob cat that got her pet?

House cats have become coyotes favorite meal .

People lose cats all the time around here.

[1StrongBlackMan]

70. My neighbor is pretty sure ...

the cat was in/found in a walled off yard and there had been a bobcat sighting earlier that day. However, we have plenty of coyotes close by.

On that thought ... In the early morning, especially in the late summer, I love sitting on my patio listening to the coyote talking amongst themselves. It freaks my poodles out ... when the coyotes start up, my dogs always respond with a look on their face suggesting they know what the coyotes are saying and they want no part of it.

[jberryhill]

56. If a bobcat ate my family...

...I might capture and release it, but I wouldn't try to pet it.

[beam me up scottie]

65. What if I rubbed tuna all over Mr. Bmus' brother and left him out in the country...

I mean the poor cats have to eat something, right?

[jberryhill]

66. Well, I suppose it matters who in the family we're talking about

[beam me up scottie]

67. I think I'll wait until Obama's term is up.

Watching him squirm every time he sees pictures of black people living in the White House is too much fun.

[janx]

69. Bobcat Eats Rabbit

probably wouldn't be such a compelling headline...

[TwilightGardener]

75. Yeah, or "Bobcat Acts Like Bobcat".

Slow news day.

[janx]

129. Yep!

[Remmah2]

102. But it's duck season!

Silly wabbits.

[slackmaster]

106. WABBIT SEASON!

[Remmah2]

107. My name is Elmer J Fudd, 1 percenter I own a mansion and a yacht.

Duck season!

[MineralMan]

71. No bobcat could resist a nice fat pet bunny.

Day or night.

[joeybee12]

76. Stupid woman didn't learn...sounds like she's going to keep the 2 rabbits outside...

The bobcat knows where there's food...it'll probably be back...stupid, stupid woman.

[DollarBillHines]

91. I encountered a mountain lion in my front yard, recently.

We just watched each other while I backed thru the doorway.

Good thing it didn't make it to the backyard, because Frankie Cat would've kicked its ass.

I live four blocks off our town's plaza.

[KansDem]

94. Check out this photo!

This isn't the bobcat from the story, but a photo I ran across while searching for bobcats.



Wow!!!

[Liberal Veteran]

95. Holy Crap! They can fly???!!!

Streaky the Supercat!

[Liberal_in_LA]

96. amazing photo

[mike_c]

98. that's the pic I use to open my ecology lecture on predation....

I call it "The last thing a snowshoe hare sees." (Not my pic, just one that I use to illustrate a lecture.)

[KansDem]

100. "The last thing a snowshoe hare sees."

I get a little tingly when I see it too!

[1StrongBlackMan]

126. That's a beautiful picture ...

A couple of years ago, the blinds were open to our back patio. I briefly opened my eye and thought, who left the dog out. Then, it dawned on me that: A) this animal was waayyy bigger than any of my dogs, and B) all three of my dogs were lying on the bed between me and Mrs. 1StrongBlackMan.

So I opened my eye just in time to see the bobcat leap, effortlessly, to the top of one of my walls (~10 feet up) and just stood there posing. It was gone before I could get to my camera.

[KansDem]

127. "...just stood there posing."

I've got three cats: a Calico, a Torti and a Maine Coon. They pose all the time!

Must be something about the feline personality!

[pansypoo53219]

99. A RABBIT? ok. bobcat was doing nature. rabbits are critter food.

why wasn't she watching said fodder?

[Remmah2]

101. How de we know it's a Bobcat and not a Robertacat?

Anyone look under the tail?

[get the red out]

103. Rabbits would be seen as food for many

I hate that her pet was killed, but the way my own dog looks at wild rabbits on our walks someone's dog could have gotten out of the yard and gone after a rabbit as well. Just a sad, sad thing. It gets really difficult as more and more wild area for animals disappears.

[Cleita]

111. If the bobcat hadn't got them the coyotes or even owls may have gotten them.

Even in the city you have to protect your pets from predators. Garbage foragers will get distracted with something tasty like a rabbit or chicken if you aren't wary. We keep chickens and doves and our cages are like Fort Leavenworth. There is no coyote, bobcat or hawk that can breach them, nor can the residents escape them, but they don't even want to. They know they are safe inside.

[SoCalDem]

123. When people encroach on wild critters' remaining habitat, their oiutdoor pets are a buffet

It may be crass to say it, but it's the truth.

If you love your pets, keep them indoors or in a separate outdoor structure at night...a well-fortified one.

The wild critters need to eat and to feed their young too. They can't tell a pet from any other prey they hunt.

When we move near them ("because it's so pretty and quiet there&quot we invite them into our "claimed space".

[LeftyMom]

125. Pet rabbits should be kept inside.