Bobcats Make Den in Homeowner’s Backyard
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.24.14
Bruce and Pam Waite of Tyngsborough, Massachusetts live close to conservation areas, so wildlife is not a new sight for the couple. Last Saturday, however, they found two bobcats laying claim to their backyard.
“I snuck around the house just to make sure my chickens were in, but they didn’t care about anybody,” Bruce Waite told CBS Boston.
That was because love was in the air—it is now mating season for bobcats. Bobcats mate throughout the year but late winter and early spring are especially frenzied times for the felines. Frequently at least twice the size of a domestic cat, bobcats are usually elusive creatures and generally avoid human contact. In this case, however, the cats did not seem to mind being close to the Waites.
“I was in awe. You get that stuff on The Discovery Channel, but to see it in your own backyard was pretty cool,” Pam Waite added.
While it is unlikely that the pair of bobcats made a permanent home in the couple’s yard, they do expect to see a few kits in a three months’ time. The average territory of a female bobcat is only about five miles, and the cats do not range far from familiar territory when trailing a litter of kits. Females keep an assortment of dens throughout their territory, which usually consist of caves and rock shelters, or auxiliary dens made from small brush piles.
