By, Anne Carpenter
One middle-of-the-night in October I was startled awake by a blood-curdling, hair-raising scream. Two screams in succession. Someone - a woman - in my neighborhood was being viciously attacked, I was sure. Call 911? But the scream was so loud that it would have had to be right in my own house or at least in my driveway. Impossible! The next day, when I described it to my nature-wise son, he told me it was a caterwauling bobcat. Bobcats here? Yes! Here's what I've learned.
Although more populous in the mountains and along the coastal plain, bobcats live in all counties of N.C. They are only about twice the size of a house cat and weigh from 20 (females) to 40 (males) pounds. Their name comes from their short tails. They feed mainly on rabbits but also on squirrels, opossums, birds, raccoons, snakes and occasionally on farm animals. They also kill and eat deer by jumping on the deer's back, sinking their teeth into the back of the deer's neck and riding it until it drops from exhaustion. (Nice!)
Bobcats are far more often heard than seen. (For a "sighting," see the accompanying picture.) They are solitary, secretive, stealthy, elusive and quick. But... their caterwauling can be heard from a mile away!!
Now... I've also been told that it could have been an owl. Which one? Not one I've heard before.
One middle-of-the-night in October I was startled awake by a blood-curdling, hair-raising scream. Two screams in succession. Someone - a woman - in my neighborhood was being viciously attacked, I was sure. Call 911? But the scream was so loud that it would have had to be right in my own house or at least in my driveway. Impossible! The next day, when I described it to my nature-wise son, he told me it was a caterwauling bobcat. Bobcats here? Yes! Here's what I've learned.
Although more populous in the mountains and along the coastal plain, bobcats live in all counties of N.C. They are only about twice the size of a house cat and weigh from 20 (females) to 40 (males) pounds. Their name comes from their short tails. They feed mainly on rabbits but also on squirrels, opossums, birds, raccoons, snakes and occasionally on farm animals. They also kill and eat deer by jumping on the deer's back, sinking their teeth into the back of the deer's neck and riding it until it drops from exhaustion. (Nice!)
Bobcats are far more often heard than seen. (For a "sighting," see the accompanying picture.) They are solitary, secretive, stealthy, elusive and quick. But... their caterwauling can be heard from a mile away!!
Now... I've also been told that it could have been an owl. Which one? Not one I've heard before.