Joe Kahlo
One day, Kate Smith from Mesa Arizona woke to find a group of young bobcats who had taken up residence in her front courtyard
“Apparently, I’m running an Airbnb for bobcats,” Smith wrote on Twitter when after sharing the photo above.
“Two last month and now three today who have moved into my courtyard for the weekend.”
As time went on, the bobcats became more comfortable with their new hang-out spot and began to move even closer to the home where Smith was.
“These guys have been here a month. I’ve been told that as soon as the cubs are old enough to hunt on their own, they should be moving on, but they’ve been here a while.”
This ‘close-to-home’ bobcat encounter is only one of two that have ever occurred in 24 years of Smith living in this home nearby Usery Mountain Regional Park.
Although the past encounter was due to a bobcat who required medical help and therefore didn’t last longer than a couple of days.
Smith contacted the Arizona Game and Fish Department for some assistance with the situation, who told her that relocating the group that’s moved onto Smith’s property now could lead to their deaths.
“The answer they gave me was that if you take them out of their territory, they typically don’t survive, so I said, ‘Oh, forget it.”
“They’re territorial, so if you plop them down in an area they’re unfamiliar with, they usually won’t make it.”
Smith was providing updates on Twitter to her followers, and it wasn’t until four months later that they finally left.
“We’re glad to have our outdoor space back, but we will miss them,” Smith tweeted.
According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, you should make sure all grass and shrubbery near your home are properly trimmed and pet food is removed to help deter bobcats from coming near your home.
