A wild bobcat was spotted roaming the streets of a gated community in Boynton Beach recently.
Stories of a bobcat walking around the neighborhood had been circulating for some time, but amateur photographer Thelma Myerson actually ran into it one sunny afternoon and took a picture of it.
The cat stopped to look at Thelma and then kept on walking like it was all good.
Thelma and her husband Manny bought their home with a pond in the back yard for the very purpose of being able to spot wild animals. But most homes with ponds in the back have birds and lizards and raccoons and ducks. The Myersons had a wild carnivore walking around their backyard.
"I didn't want to get too close, not that I feared for myself, but I didn't want to scare it off so that it would retreat," says Thelma. "We were very excited, it made our day, our month, it's a nice consolation for putting up with the hot summer weather in Florida."
Let's see how much consolation there is to a hot summer day when the bobcat EATS YOUR FACE OFF.
The last time a person came in contact with a bobcat here in Florida, things didn't turn out very well for either. Back in April, a Hillsborough County woman found an injured bobcat and tried to get all Medicine Woman on the animal, and it bit her, and the animal had to be put down. Some might argue the bobcat got the short end of the stick on that whole deal.
Still, you have to admit Thelma Myserson's photo is pretty cool. And she was especially lucky to have a wild bobcat stop and say "Sup" and pose for a picture because bobcats are nocturnal animals, which makes spotting one in the daytime even more special.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called about the bobcat, but the the FWC said that it's no biggie because bobcats have a natural fear of humans -- probably because the other bobcats heard about the Hillsborough County lady that had their friend killed. The FWC also said that the Boynton Beach bobcat poses no threat, so there's no need to send a crew to come get it.
So it's totally cool if you spot the bobcat and let your kids ride on its back like a horse.*
(*PS- no it's not)
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