De Soto residents have spotted a bobcat wandering around the neighborhood, showing up often enough that they’ve been able to take photos of the normally elusive animal.
But Johnson County Animal Control said there may be a reason it keeps coming back — someone is feeding it.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to stop feeding the bobcat after Animal Control Officer Larry Shoop received a report from a resident concerned that several of his neighbors were leaving food out for the animal.
The bobcat doesn’t seem to be sick or injured. In fact, Shoop said photos sent to him show what appears to be a healthy animal.
“That’s a beautiful bobcat. It looks really healthy,” Shoop said. “But it’s probably healthy because it’s eating so well.”
Wild animals that regularly receive food from people can get accustomed to returning to homes and become more confident around humans, Shoop said.
In general, people shouldn’t be concerned if they see a bobcat.
“Most of the time, it’s going to be just fine,” Shoop said. “They’re going to be able to coexist with us without causing problems.”
An elusive animal
Bobcats live throughout Kansas, including Johnson County, but residents may rarely see them.
Shoop described the cats as “elusive.”
Bobcats’ spotted coats act as camouflage, and they mostly stay close to brush, wooded areas, streams and other places that provide cover, according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
Shoop, who spent about 30 years as a sheriff’s deputy before moving into animal control three years ago, said he doesn’t get a lot of calls about bobcats.
“They’re really sporadic,” Shoop said.
But seeing a bobcat in De Soto, specifically, isn’t necessarily unusual because of the amount of farmland and undeveloped land in the area, he added.
As rural areas continue to develop, sightings will become more common.
“We’re moving into their areas. So we’re kind of displacing them,” Shoop said. “I’m sure the wildlife has to adjust to that.”
“Leave them alone and allow them to move on”
Bobcats are predators, and their natural diet consists largely of small animals, like rabbits, squirrels and birds.
But, eating food left out for them is much easier than hunting, and will make them return.
This can be dangerous for small pets and livestock.
Shoop said if a wild animal gets too comfortable around people or repeatedly kills pets, then animal control has to step in.
“The last thing we want to have to do is destroy an animal that wouldn’t have to be destroyed if they just left it alone,” Shoop said.
The sheriff’s office isn’t asking residents to do anything about the De Soto bobcat other than give it space.
If it passes through a neighborhood, officials say residents shouldn’t approach, follow or feed it.
“Wild animals may pass through neighborhoods, but that does not mean they need food or help,” the sheriff’s office said in its Facebook post. “The best thing to do is leave them alone and allow them to move on.”
