Comments on: A Bobcat?

By: Some Quick Notes Before I Dissapear for a Few Days | MamaStories

Some Quick Notes Before I Dissapear for a Few Days | MamaStories — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:50:57 +0000

[...] out that the bobcat I heard a couple of weeks ago was most likely a fisher cat. My neighbor saw one crossing the street this morning and immediately [...]

By: Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Barb-Harmony Art Mom — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:58:46 +0000

Love your last sentence!

Linked to you today on my Google Reader Share.

By: Sherry

Sherry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:26:52 +0000

Wow–that’s exciting! :)

By: Diana/ Garden on the Edge

Diana/ Garden on the Edge — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:20:53 +0000

Bobcats start breeding in February around here. My suspicion would be love was in the air. Usually the young disperse before winter so I don’t think it was mom protecting her young.

Alternately it could have been a territorial discussion. Two bobcats disagreeing over the edges of their territories will vocalize. It’s hard to say for sure since I wasn’t there (based on your description I’m betting on breeding).

Foxes would not attack a bobcat and coyotes would attack young but not if mom was around.

By: brooklinemama

brooklinemama — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:04:07 +0000

Diana, there was definitely some sort of crisis, it sounded like an alarm call to me. Maybe she was protecting her young? We have a lot of foxes around too. Would they attach them? I love your blog (and the name): I’ll check it out soon.

Rhea, a friend of mine had a coyote stare her down in JP once. Then it came at her and she had to jump on a car so the alarm went off and scared the coyote away.

By: Rhea

Rhea — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:32:16 +0000

Wow! Scary. I live in JP and have encounters with coyotes and a fox, but never a screaming feline-y type of animal!

By: Diana/ Garden on the Edge

Diana/ Garden on the Edge — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:19:55 +0000

I would not be surprised at a Bobcat in a suburban or even urban setting (probably not the North Shore, though). The good news is that a healthy Bobcat will not attack you unless provoked. (now, if you do corner one then it becomes a flying blender, so don’t provoke it, leave it an escape route). The even better news is that bobcats are so good at living among people without being seen that you are incredibly lucky to have (probably) spotted TWO!

Oh, yeah, my credentials. I’m not just a random person I’m a biologist and I have worked with both wild and captive bobcats.

And, I’m jealous. I haven’t seen a bobcat in over a year.

By: Bees | MamaStories

Bees | MamaStories — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:02:16 +0000

[...] yesterday evening was eventful. I heard a wild cat (or a fisher? – see the comments) in the street. Someone in a drive-by knocked our mailbox right [...]

By: brooklinemama

brooklinemama — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:54:49 +0000

Suldog, that is fascinating! I’ve never seen a fisher.
I never saw the animal(s), only some of its outline and the reflecting eyes. I wish I could find a recording of the Fisher to compare it to that scream that is now welded to my brain.

By: Suldog

Suldog — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:41:38 +0000

It might have been a bobcat. It’s also possible that what you heard was a fisher. They make a sound similar to that. Here’s a link about that animal:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_%28animal%29

I had one up a tree in my front yard in Watertown once. I never want to again! The sound it made was ungodly; that’s what drew me outside. I shined a flashlight up into the tree where the sound was coming from and caught sight of a reflection from the eyes, but that’s about all. The reflection was sort of golden, as they reflect light similarly to a cat’s eyes. They will prey on housecats, if hungry enough.

Anyway, a possibility.