21 November 2023
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (KSNW) — A viewer from Garden City shared a video of a bobcat in his backyard Monday evening.
Anthony De La Torre says the bobcat was in his backyard near Garden City High School around 5:30 p.m.
De La Torre says he did not realize what kind of cat it was at first.
“I was putting up Christmas lights, and it was just hanging out in my backyard. I didn’t pay it any attention as there are quite a few strays that come through our yard,” said De La Torre.
De La Torre said it must have been a young bobcat due to its size.
“Wasn’t any bigger than a house cat,” said De La Torre.
In the video, you can see the bobcat piddling with something before De La Torre makes a noise, getting its attention.
The bobcat then slowly makes its way toward him. De La Torre says it was about 20′ away. The video then ends.
De La Torre sent another video of the cat behind a shed in his backyard. He says it later left through a hole in the fence.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, bobcats are more afraid of us than we are of them but may lose their natural fear of people when they find free sources of human-associated food, such as pet food left on porches.
The Humane Society of the United States says you can teach a bobcat to be weary of people by being big and scary.
“Raise your arms over your head, yell or blow a whistle and bang metal pot tops together as you move toward the animal or spray the animal’s hindquarters with a hose or water gun,” said the Humane Society of the United States.
For more information about bobcats from the Humane Society of the United States, click here.