Think of Death Valley wildlife and you think of....well, rattlesnakes perhaps. But the national park has a population of bobcats, as a visitor and Furnace Creek resort employee learned recently when they were attacked by two of the felines.
Park officials say that on December 17th a bobcat attacked a visitor at the Furnace Creek Inn. Rangers found that a 64-year-old woman had suffered scratches and bites on her hands, face and scalp. For several days thereafter, there were numerous bobcat sightings around the inn and resort, according to Aaron Shandor, the park's acting chief ranger.
Rangers saw several bobcats that showed signs of habituation to humans, but were unable to determine which one was responsible for the attack.
On Friday, December 21st, rangers responded to another report of a bobcat attack at the inn. A male employee of the resort had reportedly been smoking outside the building when the bobcat attacked him, inflicting bites and lacerations to his head and neck.
Since the attack occurred on private property, California Fish and Game and the Inyo County Sheriff's Office were notified. Fish and Game officers asked the park to euthanize the bobcat to ensure public safety. Necropsy results, received last week, revealed that the animal was not suffering from rabies.
Rangers and Fish and Game officers found that several resort employees had been feeding wildlife, greatly contributing to the bobcats' habituation and aggressive behavior.
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THere are billions of humans on this planet. There are millions visiting Death Valley. There are just a few bobcat left in the Death Valley: "Simulation models were run by assuming the bobcat population in study area six is either 60 (Fig. 1A) or 35 (Fig. 1B). These population estimates were based on anecdotal evidence from the remote camera photos and spatial data from collared bobcats in study area six. It was predicted the population size in 7 study area six is closer to 60 individuals" - according to the State of CA: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=135918 ---- My sympathy for the attacked woman. But collectively, humans can do MUCH better than squeezing wildlife OUT OF EXISTENCE.
You def do not need a 44 mag lol...unless you are being chased by bears.
If St. Seraphim Sarovsky and St. Sergius of Radonezh didn't fear our wild brothers and sisters, neither do I. They befriended bears, lacking American bobcats. I am 70 years of age and have spent much of my life in the woods. I respect wildlife and am not a bear-hugger. Still, if I view them as my adversary, that is what they will become. If I love them and respect their priorities as a result, the chances of unfortunate encounters are minimized. For most of the time humans and animals have encountered one another, guns did not exist. They can hardly be considered a necessity. Intelligence and caution will serve one far better in most instances.
Correct. Even to fire a shot off to the side to scare them away.
Responding to the above comment, animals never get the wrong idea about humans. They study humans' habits from afar. Also the above comment said a person from Europe was feeding the Bobcats before she returned to Europe. Then the woman was attacked from behind. The bobcats believe it's their territory and they obviously defend it by attacking. They remember humans complete lack of understanding what they are doing. Macing a Bobcat? How stupid is that? The bobcats remember if they have been attacked. They remember. Wild animals know humans especially if they have been tortured with MACE. How could the commentor even say that the "animal got the wrong idea about humans"? Preposterous and ludicrous. NEVER MESS WITH WILD LIFE. NEVER.