Rare Predator Sighting

[rps]

After the wife presided over after school detention this evening at Eureka Springs High School, she and I headed 9 miles North to Holiday Island, where we live. About half way there on Highway 23 North, I watched a young, very dark bobcat cross the road and dart into the woods. It took a moment for the bob tail and the motion to relay to my brain that I had seen what I saw. When I asked Nancy what she had seen, she said, "Something I did not recognize."

I had not seen a live and wild bobcat since I was a boy in Oklahoma.

Do any of you regularly see the things?

[fishinwrench]

Never see them myself but I know they are around.   Kinda like skunks, only time I see one is dead on the road.

[laker67]

I have only saw 5 live ones in my lifetime. And two of those were in heavily populated areas, one in the city of springfield and the other in the city of fort wayne.

[BilletHead]

23 minutes ago, rps said:

After the wife presided over after school detention this evening at Eureka Springs High School, she and I headed 9 miles North to Holiday Island, where we live. About half way there on Highway 23 North, I watched a young, very dark bobcat cross the road and dart into the woods. It took a moment for the bob tail and the motion to relay to my brain that I had seen what I saw. When I asked Nancy what she had seen, she said, "Something I did not recognize."

I had not seen a live and wild bobcat since I was a boy in Oklahoma.

Do any of you regularly see the things?

             We do up here RPS. About once a month we see one hit on the road too. Once we seen one stalk a squirrel that was under our birdfeeder. At ten foot away it made a dash and nailed it. It then sort of pranced into the woods with the limp body. Mom has seen the same thing. Years when I ran trail cameras we have got some really nice pictures,

BilletHead

[Johnsfolly]

I have seen a couple here in Missouri and one in Georgia. My friend shot a giant bobcat last year just outside of town here in Columbia. I drew my bow on one a couple of years ago. As it got within 15 yards of me it just disappeared. I never saw it again.

[Dutch]

I see one from time to time down at the farm when I am deer hunting.  We used to see them all the time when we quail hunted around Deep Water.

[Terrierman]

Used to see them more when I lived around Nevada.  But still not many.  Maybe 10 in my lifetime.  They are so cool to put an eye on.

[slothman]

I see one ever so often. Usually when deer hunting or turkey hunting. I hear them much more often than I see them. Those things are sound eerie. 

[Al Agnew]

We see an average of one or two a year around the house.  Have seen three while sitting in the tree stand behind the house, several roaming the little wet weather creek just below it, but our best sighting was back when we still kept chickens.  We had some chicks, and they were locked in the chicken house, which has a big fenced in yard around it.  One day, middle of the day, a female and two 3/4th grown kittens spent a good half hour roaming around the chicken yard trying to figure out how to get into those chicks.  This was just 15-30 yards from the window where we were watching, and we watched them, entranced.  When they finally gave up and disappeared, THEN I realized I could have been taking pictures all along.

I've seen them in a couple other places while deer hunting, as well.

[Gavin]

They are around, but very reclusive. See them occasionally in Ladue around Old Warson CC, Lots of deer and flocks of turkey in that area too. Have deer in our yard occasionally in Webster Groves. Dog ran off a nice buck and 4 does this AM when I let her out.