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Bobcat attacks hiker, park rangers in Orange Count
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Bobcat attacks hiker, park rangers in Orange County
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. - The carcass of a bobcat that attacked a hiker, charged a park ranger's truck and lunged at another ranger in Rock Springs Run State Preserve is being tested for rabies, officials said Monday.
A wildlife officer fatally shot the cat Sunday as it hung from the ranger's arm, officials said.
The animal's remains have been shipped to the Florida Department of Health lab in Tampa to determine if the animal was rabid, said Kevin Lenhart, a spokesman for the Lake County Health Department. Results are expected Tuesday or Wednesday.
Todd Long, 37, of Melbourne, was hiking when he said he heard "a shrill meow" and saw a bobcat poised to attack. Long said he put up his arms to deflect the cat, but instead caught the 35-pound animal.
"Here I am holding this thing and shaking it, and finally realizing that it's not doing any good," Long said, "so I threw it in the bushes."
The cat, as big as a medium-sized dog, pounced again minutes later and Long clubbed it with a stick, temporarily knocking out the cat.
"I hit him about a dozen times with the stick, breaking the stick into pieces about four times," Long said.
He walked two miles up the path to a ranger and the pair returned in a truck. The cat attacked the vehicle, clawing the grill and rear bumper as it tried to get inside the cab.
Lt. Laura DeWald, of the Department of Environmental Protection, and Officer John Giles, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, arrived, armed with a pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun.
The cat jumped on DeWald after she fired three or four shots. Giles then killed the animal as it hung from her arm.
"This is extremely unusual behavior. They usually flee at the sight of a person," wildlife commission Lt. Jeff Gier said. He said bobcats hunt at night and are rarely seen during the day.
Long and DeWald have begun a series of five rabies shots, Lenhart said.
Information from: The Orlando Sentinel
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/071502/D7KP874O2.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. - The carcass of a bobcat that attacked a hiker, charged a park ranger's truck and lunged at another ranger in Rock Springs Run State Preserve is being tested for rabies, officials said Monday.
A wildlife officer fatally shot the cat Sunday as it hung from the ranger's arm, officials said.
The animal's remains have been shipped to the Florida Department of Health lab in Tampa to determine if the animal was rabid, said Kevin Lenhart, a spokesman for the Lake County Health Department. Results are expected Tuesday or Wednesday.
Todd Long, 37, of Melbourne, was hiking when he said he heard "a shrill meow" and saw a bobcat poised to attack. Long said he put up his arms to deflect the cat, but instead caught the 35-pound animal.
"Here I am holding this thing and shaking it, and finally realizing that it's not doing any good," Long said, "so I threw it in the bushes."
The cat, as big as a medium-sized dog, pounced again minutes later and Long clubbed it with a stick, temporarily knocking out the cat.
"I hit him about a dozen times with the stick, breaking the stick into pieces about four times," Long said.
He walked two miles up the path to a ranger and the pair returned in a truck. The cat attacked the vehicle, clawing the grill and rear bumper as it tried to get inside the cab.
Lt. Laura DeWald, of the Department of Environmental Protection, and Officer John Giles, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, arrived, armed with a pistol and a 12-gauge shotgun.
The cat jumped on DeWald after she fired three or four shots. Giles then killed the animal as it hung from her arm.
"This is extremely unusual behavior. They usually flee at the sight of a person," wildlife commission Lt. Jeff Gier said. He said bobcats hunt at night and are rarely seen during the day.
Long and DeWald have begun a series of five rabies shots, Lenhart said.
Information from: The Orlando Sentinel
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/apnews/stories/071502/D7KP874O2.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878