What to do if a bobcat family sets up in your backyard
They may be cute, but here's some tips to make little predators not welcome
Colin Lee was casually mowing his lawn in northwest Calgary one day this summer when a bobcat darted out from under his deck and ran directly at him.
After a momentary stare down, the wild cat growled aggressively. Lee then discovered a half eaten rabbit under his deck, so decided to leave the cat and dispose of the carcass at a later time.
He then discovered why the bobcat was so defensive when he saw three kittens joining their protective mother. In this case, they were eating a squirrel on his deck for breakfast.
When he tried to get out his back gate to go to work, he had another showdown with the momma bobcat.
"Then I hear this kind of whooshing.... I look up to my right and this thing is on the cap of my fence looking down on me," said Lee. "You know when you see a cat really crouch down and it's got its hackles up.... It followed me the length of my fence — which is about 30 or 40 feet."
He fortunately made it out unscathed, and texted his family a warning, but he ran into the bobcats again in late August.
Lee decided to contact the authorities, and was told to "throw small rocks" or spray them with a hose to make them feel not welcomed.
"This is not typical at all. This is not Fish Creek Park," he said about the visitors near the community of Varsity.
But Brett Boukall, a senior wildlife biologist with Alberta Environment and Parks, doesn't recommend harassing wildlife. He says a spray of water might be OK, but the best thing to do is to make our yards less attractive for wildlife to stay.
- Clean up backyard garbage.
- Keeping pet food inside.
- Think about losing your bird feeder, which can attract bobcat prey.
- Fixing holes under decks or steps to not provide them shelters.
- Trimming hedges and shrubs.
- Bobcats like a quiet space not used by people, so get out there more often.
- Think about installing motion-sensor lights.
Boukall says bobcats have been in the city since the 1980s but they've been becoming more regular. He says it's because they are becoming more habituated to humans.
"As they become more comfortable, we are going to be seeing them in places we may not expect them — especially if there are prey and food for them, as well as places where they can reside," he said, adding places likes decks and abandoned homes provide them shelter.
Wildlife expert Chris Fisher says bobcats will spend the winter in Calgary and do hang out in sheltered places, such as under peoples decks.
Fisher said they reproduce in the spring in more permanent dens, while in winter they might change up den sites.
So if you see a larger-than-normal house cat that looks a little wild, and has black bars on its cheeks and brownish forehead — which sets bobcats apart from lynx, you may want to take action before they set up shop for the winter or summer.
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