Bobcat Awareness

Just a few days ago I wrote a story about hiking and Boy Scouts, etc. talking about how to protect yourself should you encounter a bear. Well, I just learned that two people were attacked by a bobcat in Withlacoochee State Forest located in Citrus County, Florida while they were hiking with their Boy Scout group. It could perhaps be because females have their kittens in April or May. They killed and tested it for rabies. There are an estimated 55,000 human deaths from rabies worldwide annually: 31,000 in Asia, and 24,000 in Africa.

Rabies (stemmed from Latin which means “madness”) is a viral neuroinvasive disease which causes inflammation of the brain, and is fatal if left untreated. It takes a few months to travel to the central nervous system. Symptoms are fever, headache, violent movements, depressions, acute pain, and inability to swallow water. Later stages of it are coma and death after respiratory insufficiency. It is a significant killer of livestock in several countries.

I never knew Bobcats were anywhere near my area. I was surprised to find out that they do in fact live and have adapted well to living in suburban areas, swamps, and even deserts. They’re primarily a North American mammal, living in most of the United States, on into parts of Canada! They’re twice as big as a domestic cat. A male can get up to 47 inches long, and are approximately 15 inches tall, and up to 30 pounds. Their tail is stubby, and that’s how it received it’s name. Their average life span in the wild is up to 10 years, and in captivity, 32.

They stalk their prey, then pounce on it after a short chase. They normally eat rabbits, rodents, fish, birds and bugs, and have also been known to have killed deer, foxes, poultry, sheep, house cats and small dogs! It’s an endangered species in New Jersey, Indiana and Ohio.

If you plan to do any hiking, you should make sure you have a personal defense weapon on you at all times. A stun baton is a great device to have, as well as pepper or bear pepper spray.