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CASTLE PINES, Colorado — What happens when a bobcat encounters a deer? That usually depends on the size of the bobcat and how hungry it is. If you search “bobcat attacks deer” on YouTube, you’ll find plenty of evidence that bobcats have no problem taking on a much larger deer.
As seen in a recent video, however, the deer sometimes becomes the aggressor.
According to a report from Denver7, the video comes from a family in Colorado. Jim Brennan was filming a bobcat in the yard when a deer began chasing it. The brief pursuit ended when the bobcat jumped over some shrubs and hid beside an air conditioning unit.
When Brennan moved to a different window to get a better view of the action, he was shocked to find that there were two other bobcats hiding out beside his house.
The fact that three bobcats were seen in the Brennan's yard was unsurprising to Jennifer Churchill, of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
"(Bobcats are) out there, all over the place," Churchill told Denver7. "They're just really good at hiding."
The scenes in the video serve as a reminder that bobcats and other predators often pass through residential areas. Pet owners should be particularly aware of the dangers posed by wild animals, as demonstrated in this video of a mountain lion battling a Doberman.
Here are some practical tips to reduce the danger:
- Keep your pets indoors from dusk to dawn
- Secure your pets in the yard with an enclosure, not a chain
- Feed your pets indoors
- Trim brush in your yard to reduce hiding places
- Install motion-activated lights around your house
