My parents live on a large property and get coyotes and have seen 4 bobcats in their backyard. We have 2 young children who like to "explore" in their backyard. Do bobcats like to "hang out" or are they frightened of us? I guess my fear is that the kids will be playing in the back of the property and that a bobcat will come and attack them.
I AM NOT talking about a mountain lion.
Answers:
My father lives on an excessivly large property in rural North Dakota and he gets coyotes and bobcats on his property on a regular basis. I have not seen a bobcat come near the house however the coyotes will often in a group of 2 or more (havent seen one alone). My father also has a large portion of a lake on his property and bobcats frequent it for drinking and prey (other wildlife). He has shot one bobcat in the last year because it charged after him but it is said that when bobcats attack they generally have signs of rabies, I dont know if its true or not. You can ALWAYS hear bobcats on my dads property around sunset and sunup I guess this is when they are most active. I once heard that bobcats will attack anything smaller then them. I know Im not of much help but I dont allow my children to "explore" grandpa's 1000+ acres because we dont know whats out there and I wont take a chance. I do know that Bobcats may be attracted to a yard that has alot of wildlife, domestic birds, small pets, water, and shade or other shelter so my dad keeps what he considers "yard" free of all that. Now as for the coyotes they just come right up on the porch scared the hell out of me the first time but again this was at night and they are searching for food. The dogs generally scare the coyotes off, the bobcats wont come close enough to the house I think its because the dogs are bigger then they are.
Last summer when we were all going out to the lake so my dad and husband, sister, nephews and so forth could fish on his property he took along 2 guns. Told us "if you hear a bobcat get those kids in the cars". The entire time we were out there he kept looking for one certain cat which had apparently charged him a few nights earlier and according to him "almost" made him crap his pants. But again according to the wildlife agents in this area bobcat attacks are rare on humans and those that do attack often have signs of rabies..
Mountain lions.thats a different story
Most wild animals steer clear of humans. Loud noise's make them want to go the other way. Bobcat's aren't really very aggressive, unless provoked. The only problem I see is the age of your kids. If very young, where they make high pitched laughing sounds, it sounds like prey to a cat. Teach them about the animal, what to look for and what to steer clear of !! Unless they approach the cat, they will be okay. It's easy to live with wildlife, as long as you do your homework.
I agree, most wild animals will not attack humans unless they are threatened or unless they are ill. Do you have a dog? If not, see if you can borrow a neighbor's large dog and walk him around the perimeter of the property and let him pee everywhere. Dog urine will often scare away anything that wants to come on the property. This sounds gross, but human urine works well, too. You could also fill some coffee cans with small rocks and shake and toss them at the animals if they get too close. If they're not causing any problems, try to let them be and just keep your children under close supervision and within arm's reach at all time. You should do that with young kids anyway, there's too much that could injure them. If you call Fish and Game to remove the wildlife, they will probably be destroyed.
bobcats will not attack your children
they fear humans.
They may be curious, I used to live where a family of bobcats would come and sit to watch us...but I'd be very careful with the kids...they will attack a small child and so will a coyote...big time, anything they think is a suitable food source. don't leave them unattended.
It is never a good idea to say "never" as in "a bobcat would never attack a human."
They are wild animals. They are predators. Although not generally agressive, they are unpredictable. If you startle it, it could attack. If you get too close to its young, it may attack. If it is sick, injured or very hungry, it might attack. If your children are very young/small, they might see them as potential prey and attack. If your children are unsupervised and come upon a bobcat, get scared, and start throwing rocks at it to chase it off, it could attack.
Ot it could run like hell in the opposite direction.
Is it really worth the risk? Don't let the kids explore unsupervised. Use the opportunity to spend some quality time with them and teach them about nature, its good side and its dangers. Teach them to respect wild animals. Keep them safe.
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