Bobcat Capture In El Dorado Hills Is Latest Wildlife Encounter As California Drought Continues
EL DORADO HILLS (CBS13) — A bobcat was captured in a local neighborhood, the second wild cat spotted in the region in the past few months.
People living in a quiet El Dorado Hills community say the big cat killed several pets.
Jeff Dukes, a hired bobcat trapper, says the drought likely means business will be picking up.
"They're coming out of the hills where there's no water and they're coming around houses and homes where little house cats and dogs are easy to grab," he said.
He says this bobcat is the second one he's caught in recent years.
He says people who live in the somewhat natural habitat are torn between live and let live and protecting their family and pets.
"Some people don't have kids and this is their kids," Dukes said. "And they feel they lost a life—people that are close to them."
Experts say bobcats can sometimes be mistaken for feral cats, especially kittens. One big difference is bobcats always have black ears with a white patch in the center. Also, their legs are proportionally longer compared to a domesticated cat.
