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BOSTON HEIGHTS — It came in the middle of the night, creeping through suburban backyards.
No one would have known if it wasn’t for a woman’s hidden camera.
Nature lovers, caught on film a male bobcat in Boston Heights, just North of Akron.
It is a magnificent picture of this beautiful creature, although such animals have attacked humans elsewhere in the country.
No matter the real dangers, having one wandering around the back yards of this small community is proving to be unsettling to many residents.
In the wooded backyards of Old Route Eight, Lisa Waynesboro has seen fox, raccoons, possum, turkeys, and coyotes but a bobcat? As close as her neighbor?
“I was shocked. I was shocked to see it,” Waynesboro said.
The animal appears to be a male and in good condition.
If it makes a home here in Boston Heights, Lisa has grave concerns for her dog, Belle, and house guests.
“It would be a real big nuisance because now you’re not only looking on the ground, but up in the the air too, if you’re walking under trees,” Waynesboro said.
The photo was taken with a motion-sensor camera. It is mounted in the back yard of next door neighbor Julie Morgan.
The picture was posted on Ohio Traveler E-Magazine and Facebook.
Since then, residents have been jamming the phone lines at the village hall, wondering what they can do about the big cat.
Because a bobcat is out of police jurisdiction, the matter was handed over to wildlife officers. Police say they could only verify what it is.
Not everybody is unhappy with their new neighbor.
“The bobcat is a good thing out here because we have so many coyotes,” neighbor Joe Conway said.
Old Route Eight practically borders the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
“The reason we have the national park here is for all those animals that were here at one time and are coming back,” Conway said.
How he got here is less of a concern then how long he’ll stay.
Studies show bobcats can wander 100 square miles before establishing their territory.
It’s possible he’s just passing through.
© 2010 WKYC-TV
bigcatrescue.org
This is kinda cool. We need some bobcats in Medina. I'm tired of waskally wabbits and and groundhogs that aren't as funny & cool as the one on CaddyShack.