Bobcat spotted in a Yuma Foothills backyard
Resident manages to get a photo before feline disappears
Pete Petersen of the Foothills was startled Wednesday morning when he looked out his back door and found a larger-than average feline looking right back at him.
“I knew it was a bobcat right away, because of the ears,” he said.
The cat appeared to have noticed his own reflection in the glass, Petersen said, and was curiously checking it out.
Petersen has lived near Avenue 14 1/2 E and 48th Street for 16 years and has never seen a bobcat in the area, although his home is just off a branch of the Fortuna Wash and he has seen a few coyotes in the warmer months.
“But usually not when everyone’s here,” he said. “But this surprised me because everyone’s here now, and it’s very populated in our area,” he said.
“This cat, it came around, we have an RV cover and it came around that to get around the building there, and onto our patio, and then looked in the window, and then just sauntered off,” he added.
He’d managed to get a photo and brief video of the animal, then slid open the glass door slowly, trying to get a better look. But it ran away and into the wash.
“He was apprehensive about my being around,” Petersen said. “And he didn’t look sick or anything like that. The pictures shows that he’s in good health.”
There hasn’t been any sign of the bobcat since, but word of the sighting spread quickly through his neighborhood.
“I talked to my neighbor because she has a dog, and didn’t want to be out when the cat’s around,” he said. “And she does a hobby thing on Thursday morning and I forwarded her the pictures and stuff, and everyone in her painting class now has copies of it. They all want pictures of the bobcat.”
Chris Bedinger, spokesman for the Yuma office of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said bobcats are found in the hills surrounding the Foothills residential area, but it is rare for any to venture into the neighborhoods below.
It is a good idea for homeowners to keep cats and small dogs inside when they suspect a bobcat could be in the area. Eliminating food sources, particularly feeders that attract birds, can deter them from coming into a yard.
“Most won’t pose any threat to people,” he said.
“We do get concerned if they start to get used to being around humans, and aren’t afraid of humans. If you see one and it runs away from you, then you’re fine,” he said.
Petersen said he would love to see that bobcat again, and hopefully would have his camera more ready when he did. “It’s exciting to see the wild animals here when people are here. Usually you think they’d be scared away.”
“Most (bobcats) won’t pose any threat to people. We do get concerned if they start to get used to being around humans, and aren’t afraid of humans.”
Chris Bedinger, spokesman, Yuma office, Arizona Game and Fish Department