Bobcat injures Calgary woman in 'extremely unusual' encounter
Officials say it was an isolated, chance incident
Bobcats typically don't weigh more than 35 pounds, yet a recent incident in Calgary has left some wondering whether these small predators could pose a threat to humans.
An adult bobcat "made contact" with a woman, leaving her with minor injuries including scratches, in the southeast Calgary community of Parkland shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday, according to a statement from Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services.
As the bobcat was accompanied by kittens, Fish and Wildlife determined that the mother had "appeared to act defensively."
The victim of the incident was unavailable for an interview with CBC News, but neighbour Mike Melanson provided an eyewitness account of what he saw.
"[The bobcat] went right after that woman like you wouldn't believe," he said. "[It] jumped, [it] knocked her right to the ground, and she was down."
Melanson told CBC News he had startled the cat by his door when he saw it walking across his front lawn, causing it to bolt in the victim's direction.
"There was a couple standing in the alley … and they were watching their dog. So the bobcat ran right toward that couple, attacked the woman … she was facing the other way. The bobcat hit her from behind."
He said he had not seen the kittens nearby when the incident occurred.
According to Melanson, the bobcat is a frequent sight in the neighbourhood, but this was the first time he had heard of it harming someone.
"You don't see too many rabbits around our area anymore," he said. "There used to be lots of them."
Melanson has three cats, and while he isn't aware of the bobcat killing anyone's pets either, the recent incident with his neighbour has left him concerned about the animal's presence.
Fish and Wildlife did not confirm to CBC News whether they had located the bobcat, but stated that "as this appears to have been an isolated, chance encounter, there is no imminent risk to public safety, and no further action is planned at this time."
But not everybody agrees with that assessment.
"I wish they'd remove the bobcat from the area," Melanson said. "I mean, anybody that would attack a human is a dangerous thing to have around."
How dangerous are bobcats?
"Bobcats are naturally shy of humans and extremely unlikely to attack people unless they are provoked, feel threatened or are defending their kittens," according to Fish and Wildlife.
Isolated cases of unprovoked bobcat attacks on humans have been reported in North America, but the odds of that happening remain incredibly low.
"This is an extremely unusual incident," said Scottie Potter, communications co-ordinator with the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation.
Potter, who has a background in wildlife education and outreach, said bobcats typically do not pose a threat to humans.
"The best guess that we have at the moment is this bobcat was feeling defensive about her kittens, but even that is pretty extreme behaviour," she said.
Considering Melanson's statement indicating that the bobcat had been startled, Potter said the animal's "irregular" behaviour might not necessarily have been an attack.
"It sounds like a one-in-a-million sort of encounter where an animal panics, is my first thought there," she said. "This bobcat, because they were so frightened, really wasn't maybe even intending to attack, and might have just been trying to get the person to move out of their way."
A bobcat would pose a greater threat to small pets, but even then the odds of an attack happening are relatively low.
"I wouldn't necessarily call [attacks on cats and dogs] common," Potter said. "Considering the number of bobcats in Calgary, the number of attacks on pets is quite low."
With that in mind, it's important to take proper precautions to prevent small pets from being snatched.
"Bobcats can move very quickly from yard to yard if they need to. They are incredible athletes, so you never know when a bobcat might stop by," Potter said.
"If you know that there's a bobcat in your area, it's best to keep your small pets either on-leash or inside."
Pet fatality earlier this year
In April, Ashley Delaney was crushed to find that her pet cat Bonnie had gone missing in the northwest Calgary community of Scenic Acres.
A neighbour who witnessed what happened told her a bobcat had ambushed Bonnie in broad daylight.
"I guess the bobcat chased her under the truck and picked her up," Delaney told CBC News.
Delaney was mindful of bobcats in the neighbourhood and made sure to keep her cat safe, but Bonnie had slipped outside unnoticed during construction at the house when the incident happened.
"When I got home, the bobcat was under the neighbour's deck with my cat."
Delaney said her cat had not been eaten by the predator.
"It didn't eat her or anything," she said. "Just killed her."
As they are in Parkland, bobcats are regularly seen in Scenic Acres, with Delaney saying she had been seeing what were likely the same one or two animals around for at least five years.
She said small pets had been known to disappear in the neighbourhood.
Co-existing with bobcats
Sara Jordan-McLachlan, a wildlife biologist who has studied bobcats extensively, said public perception of the animals can be mixed.
"There's some who are understandably concerned about themselves, their own safety and their pet's safety," she said. "And then there are others who are on the side that we are sharing the space with them and it's our job to be aware of our surroundings and be careful about interfering with them as much as we can."
She said that the best course of action to avoid negative encounters with bobcats is to avoid areas frequented by a mother and her kittens, but acknowledged that isn't always easy to do when the bobcat lives in a residential area.
"Personally, I think it is still safe for us to share that space if we take those precautions of being aware, where that cat and her kittens are, and doing our best to avoid that area, especially if we have dogs," she said.
Jordan-McLachlan said that as bobcat populations in the city increase, being mindful of their presence is important.
"We're seeing them breeding in new neighbourhoods. They're feeling comfortable in these areas and safe, with enough prey in order to have these families in the city, so they're finding ideal habitat to expand their population," she said.
Parkland resident Denise Hans, whose property is frequently visited by the bobcat and her kittens, said she had personally never felt threatened by the predator's presence, but said that it may be seen as a problematic animal to have around.
"We do not want to hear that anybody's stressed out trying to walk their pet," she said.
Hans believes the City of Calgary should invest more in wildlife management in communities like Parkland, which borders Fish Creek Provincial Park.
"There's so many other neighbourhoods that [are experiencing wildlife encounters]," she said. "They need more resources. They need to educate the people."
Hans saw the bobcat again Monday night, after Fish and Wildlife officers had spent hours around her property attempting to capture it, she said.
"Unfortunately, she kind of outwitted us all," she said. "She was so sneaky."
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