CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A homeowner in Charlotte caught a bobcat wandering across his back deck on camera. The bobcat appears to be casually strolling through, minding its own business.
“Bobcats in North Carolina are actually pretty common,” Director of Discovery Place Nature Marvin Bouknight said.
Usually, bobcats avoid areas populated by humans.
“To see one in your backyard is not out of the question,” Bouknight said.
But chance encounters are uncommon. Video from Will Haggerson in the Riverbend neighborhood near Mountain Island Lake shows a bobcat roaming across his back deck.
“If somebody was watching that in real-time, and they decided to crack open the door that cat would be gone in a shot,” Bouknight said.
A stealthy but curious cat, these felines have several distinguishing features.
“I look for a beefier cat,” Bouknight describes. “Of course that little five-inch tail is a bobcat. That’s why they get their name – that bobtail.”
While healthy bobcats pose no real threat to humans, small pets can be at risk, particularly at night.
“If you’ve got a small dog, if you let them out, make sure you’re out there with them and you have a flashlight,” Bouknight said. “If there is a predator like a bobcat around, there definitely could be an opportunity for a cat to attack and even kill small pets.”
Bobcats, like their domestic cousins, mainly feed on small mammals like rats and mice. They usually stalk their prey where open fields meet tree lines, pouncing when the time is right.
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