I've grown up arouind wildlife, and quite simply cannot fathom this unfounded fear iveseenenufdeer seemingly has acquired. I grew up among deer, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, skunks, coons, even those crazy hawks (
) and whatever the wilds of South Dakota have to offer (even see the occasional elk) and not once have I feared for my life or safety. The only animal that truely frightens me is the prairie rattler. I just can't understand someone who seemingly is afraid of the nature that surrounds them. Between this post and the deer feeding thread, I just can't imagine living in this woman's shoes. Seeing 10 point bucks fight in the yard is somehting to appreciate, not fear. Once you learn nature isn't always after YOU, you'll be a whole lot more comfortable in the woods...or even your own yard, as may be the case.
I wonder why Bobcats arent bred with domesticated cats to create a hybrid like the bengal. Is it a Genus or a Species problem? They have wolf and domestic dog hybrids or even Tiger and Lion hybrids so i figure a bobcat/domestic hybrid wouldnt be too far off? but bobcats are pretty cool looking animals
.
Such crosses DO exist. We had a problem with our "barn cats" being ate by coyotes, which led to increases in the mice population and whatnot.. WE mentioned this to some friends, and they said they had just the thing...sure enough, they showed up with some bobcat/housecat crosses....they lived along a major river drainage that was teeming with bobcats, and on more than one occasion, had kittens with definite bobcat genes. The ones we had were 2nd or 3rd generations of the orignal cross, but still had tufted ears and whatnot. After acquiring these cats, our depredation problems ceased. Watching my dog attack one of them, it was readily appearent WHY....the dog chased the cat into some high weeds, and sudenly, there was some hisses, some barks, some whining, and eventually, the dog came out of the weed patch....with a cat firmly latched on to its back, giving him hell. The dog eventually shook the cat, and all was well, but the dog learned a lesson, and we learned why we were able to keep cats around finally!
