Sharon, Mass., June 7, 2014, –This morning on Billings Street there was an animal seen that is believed to be a bobcat. Please read below for some tips on how to best deal with this.
The picture above was taken by a Sharon resident in her backyard.
Bobcats are not often responsible for killing domestic animals, but occasionally are responsible for losses of poultry, lambs, small goats, pigs, and house cats. Mostly, bobcats tend to use wild animals as prey items. Once a bobcat causes damage for the first time, it gets easier for the animal to do it again.
Where bobcats are deemed a problem, use the following management strategies around your property to prevent conflicts:
Don’t feed wildlife. This includes deer, feral cats (domestic cats gone wild), and other small mammals. Remember predators follow prey.
Prevent the buildup of feeder foods under bird feeders. Bobcats are attracted to the many birds and rodents that come to feeders.
Feed dogs and cats indoors and clean up after them. If you must feed outside, do so in the morning or midday, and pick up food and water bowls, as well as leftovers and spilled food as soon as pets have finished eating. Water, pet food and droppings attract small mammals that, in turn, attract bobcats.
Keep dogs and cats indoors, especially from dusk to dawn. Left outside at night, small dogs and cats may become prey for bobcats (which have attacked cocker-spaniel-size dogs).
Enclose poultry (chickens, ducks, and turkeys) in a secure outdoor pen and house. Bobcats will eat poultry if they can get to them. Note: Other killers of poultry include coyotes, foxes, skunks, raccoons, feral cats, dogs, opossums, weasels, hawks, and large owls.
If a dead bird is found with no apparent injuries, skinning it may determine what killed it. If the carcass is patterned by red spots where pointed teeth have bruised the flesh but not broken the skin, the bird was probably “played with” by one or more dogs until it died.
To prevent bobcats from accessing birds in their night roosts, equip poultry houses with well-fitted doors.
To prevent bobcats from accessing poultry during the day, completely enclose outdoor pens with 1-inch chicken wire placed over a sturdy wooden framework. Overlap and securely wire all seams on top to prevent bobcats from forcing their way in by using their weight and claws.
Bobcats can climb, so wooden fence posts or structures that give the bobcat footing and access to an otherwise unprotected pen will not be effective. Bobcats also have the ability to jump fences 6 feet or more in height. Use woven wire or a hot wire overhead if necessary.
For more information please contact the Sharon Animal Control Officer.