Woman Finds Injured Bobcat, Puts It in Car With Toddler 'This could have been tragic,' officials say

[Demovictory9]

Woman Finds Injured Bobcat, Puts It in Car With Toddler
'This could have been tragic,' officials say


In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, an injured bobcat stares from the back of an SUV after a Colorado Springs, Colo., woman placed it in her car, just inches away from where her child was sitting in a safety seat. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife via AP)



Picking up wild animals is always a bad idea, wildlife officials say—and placing an injured bobcat next to your child is an especially bad idea. Parks and Wildlife officials in Colorado say a Colorado Springs woman was lucky her 3-year-old boy wasn't badly hurt or even killed by an adult male bobcat she spotted while driving, ABC reports. Officials say the woman picked up the mortally injured animal, wrapped it in a blanket, and placed it just inches away from her son's car seat in the back of her SUV before calling authorities. Officials say that when the woman called to ask what to do, they told her to get herself and the child out of the car immediately, the AP reports.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife's office in the southeast of the state says that when wildlife officer Sarah Watson responded to the call, she found an unrestrained wild bobcat in the back of an SUV under a blanket." "The adult male bobcat was alert, hissing and growling, as Officer Watson secured it with a catch pole," the agency said in a tweet. "It struggled and swiped at her with its front claws. Upon examination, she saw the estimated 25-pound bobcat's rear legs were paralyzed so she humanely euthanized the animal." The animal, fortunately, "was too injured to react to being picked up and placed in a car," the agency said. "But no one should EVER try this. This could have been tragic."

https://www.newser.com/story/280679/woman-puts-injured-bobcat-next-to-toddler-in-car.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top

[Jirel]

1. Tragic.

Both that the poor bobcat died and the officials are freaking out about the Good Samaritan. That kid was in no danger. The fact that she was able to do it means the poor cat was near death.

[COLGATE4]

2. "The adult cat was alert, hissing and growling"

then it "swiped at the Wildlife Officer with it's front claws." While the animal was obviously badly injured it seems to have had plenty potential to wreak absolute mayhem on a toddler if it had decided to do so. The fact that it didn't was more pure blind luck than any ordained outcome.

[Jirel]

10. Not a threat.

Oh noes! It tried to defend itself when picked up by a predator 5 times its size!

A cat that injured is not looking for a fight. It wants to get away, not attack. Its hind end was paralyzed. It was in no shape to attack anyone - it couldn’t even get away. A toddler in a car seat is not going to attacked by that cat. If it would do anything, it would try to drag itself as far away as possible.

Week in and week out I deal with injured predators. None are interested in tangling with me.

[GulfCoast66]

11. I've dealt with captured bobcats.

And granted, with a broken spine it was no threat. But the rescuer did not know that.

Had the cat only been knocked silly, then recovered in the car he would have first tried to escape. As you stated.

But when he found himself locked in a vehicle moving down the highway with no way out, he would have done what a trapped and frightened predators does...attack.

Is a good thing for the two people in that car that the spine was severed as it could have been very bad otherwise.

[customerserviceguy]

3. Really???

The kid was in no danger? I hope you're not in charge of looking after any children.

Real life is not a Disney nature film!

[Jirel]

9. I work with wild animals.

I know real life. I’ve been punctured plenty of times by wildlife in the course of doing rehabilitation work. Including bobcats.

What I do know, for a fact, is that kid was in no danger. That cat wants nothing to do with humans. Even a toddler is a terrifying large predator to a 30ish pound bobcat. It wants nothing more than to get away. It was too injures to even do that. At worst it could hiss a warning and bat at whoever touched it.

So spare me the Disney analogies.

[customerserviceguy]

12. Then you should know

that wounded animals, even fully domesticated ones, sometimes "turn on" whoever is around, whether that person caused their pain or not.

A live bobcat of any health condition should not be placed in the near vicinity of a toddler. It doesn't seem that hard to understand.

[Hortensis]

7. Well, how about if we agree that the adult male cat probably wasn't

hissing, growling and swiping with its claws when she picked it up, carried it and wrapped it in a blanket? Getting that in the car without being harmed would have been quite a trick, and no one should believe even a very well intentioned animal lover would have put that inches from her child.

I like the wildlife employee telling her to get her and her child out immediately. Very sensible. Taxes not wasted.

[maxsolomon]

4. Super fucking sad story.

Poor kitty.

[GulfCoast66]

5. That's crazy! This is not some nice kitty!

Over the years there have been several stories of people putting ‘dead’ bobcats in the car only to discover themselves getting viciously attacked it was not so dead.

Lucky for that child the spine was broken. Had it only been stunned it could very easily killed that child.

[Sapient Donkey]

6. There's a bunch of bobcats around where I live

I was walking with a dog at night when we saw one in a sitting position watching us from afar. At least I'm pretty sure it was a bobcat. It seemed too large to be a regular house cat. I think it was more alert and worried about us, but I wouldn't wanna walk up on and startle one of them.

[GulfCoast66]

8. Oh, they will never attack you and your dog...

Well, maybe your dog if it is small and alone. But that would be predatory.

But if one wakes up in a moving car it will attack. And viscously.

I have seen 2 bobcats in live traps set to be relocated. Its attempts to attack out of the secure cage and its hollering makes grown men jump back. They are scary as hell when cornered.

[LeftInTX]

13. I've seen videos of trapped bobcats and they're vicious

[HelpImSurrounded]

15. just like humans

[GulfCoast66]

16. Please clarify...

The only ignorant responses I have seen are those suggesting it cool to put an injured bobcat into your vehicle with a toddler.

I’ve been around wildlife my entire life including bobcats humanly captured to be moved. The key term here is Wild.

If a stunned bobcat is placed in a vehicle and comes to its senses while driving down the highway locked in a vehicle there is a chance it will just lay still and everything will be fine. But no one should bet their kids life on it. Chances are greater it is going to do what all animals do when trapped and scared. Attack. And since it is a predator well equipped with weapons it can and will do damage up to and including killing someone.

I see bobcats regularly. Love them. Love having them around. But I know several things. If I let my cat out at night that bobcat will happily dine on it. And if it finds itself trapped in my moving vehicle with my toddler next to it my toddler is truly at risk. That not bad about the cat, it’s just what they do.

To suggest anyone disagreeing with you on such a non political subject is being like trump is over the top hyperbole. You are using trump to help sway an argument that has nothing to do with him.