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MANASSAS, Virginia — The next time you’re in the woods, you may want to think twice before taking your cellphone out of your pocket. A recent video suggests that the device may look enticing to a hungry bobcat.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the unusual video was shot by a Virginia hunter named Kevin Walter. An experienced turkey hunter, Walter was perched on a hillside trying to call in a gobbler.
Having no luck in his current position, Walter relocated to a new part of the hill. According to the report, that’s when an unexpected visitor arrived.
“After sitting for a few minutes I looked downhill and spotted a bobcat making its way toward me,” Walter told the Daily Caller.
A wildlife biologist by profession, Walter was stunned to see the cat approaching him. He took out his phone and recorded video of the stealthy animal. According to the Daily Caller, he decided to make things even more interesting.
“When it got directly behind me, I gave a few squirrel distress calls,” he said.
The distress calls definitely got the bobcat’s attention and “stopped it in its tracks.” When the cat peered around a tree at the source of the sounds, it was now fixated on Walter’s phone. Walter believes that the shape and size of his phone, coupled with the glint of the camera lens and flash windows facing the bobcat, may have “triggered a predatory response.”
Needless to say, something captured the cat’s attention and it began stalking the well-camouflaged hunter.
“It stopped about 4 yards away with its tail flittering about,” Walter said. “Then, just like that, it jumped right at my phone, which was next to my face. I swatted it away and it bounced off my arm and took off... ”
Walter escaped the encounter without injury.
Grant Olsen joined the KSL.com contributor team in 2012. He covers outdoor adventures, travel, product reviews and other interesting things. You can contact him at grantorrin@gmail.com.
