Bobcats on Marco Island
October 24, 2017 | Paddle Marco
When you visit Marco Island, you often think about Dolphins, Manatees and maybe Alligators… but do Bobcats ever cross your mind? Believe it or not, Marco Island has plenty of Bobcats around.
It was early October, 2014 and I was just waking up when I heard some commotion coming from my living room. My wife’s aunt, Nina, who was visiting us from Kazakhstan at the time, was in our living room drinking her morning tea when she spotted a strange looking dog sitting behind our bushes on the canal wall. I approached my living room window and was shocked to see a HUGE cat sitting on our canal wall, licking its paws! This wasn’t a dog at all… it was a Bobcat! I immediately grabbed my wife and told her to get her camera, while I called the Marco Island PD to see if this should be reported. While waiting for the police to arrive, we were able to snap several pictures of this beautiful bobcat relaxing on our canal wall:
I couldn’t believe the smell!
The police finally arrived and were shocked! They were even taking pictures of the cat and telling stories of how they have seen a couple of these bobcats around the Island. This was one of the biggest ones they have seen! The cat stood up and slowly walked down our canal wall and disappeared into the neighbors yard. I thought that was a cool experience, but it wasn’t over. Two days later I went outside to mow the lawn. I couldn’t help but notice a horrible smell, like a dead animal coming from the side of my house. I walked around to the side of the house and noticed my mulch was all dug up behind my bushes. I grabbed a rake and started moving the mulch back into place, but something was odd. Black fur and bones started to sift up from the mulch and the smell became worse. After digging around, my rake pulled out a skull. It had black fur and a white spot on the head. I’m thinking… hmm, is this a dead possum? I recalled my neighbor telling me that one of their cats was missing, and she had around 6-7 cats at the time. I put 2-and-2 together and gave her a call. Sure enough, her cat was black with a white head. I had to break the terrible news to her that I found her cat in the mulch. It’s no coincidence that the Bobcat that was lurking in our yard and preyed on the neighbors cat, ate it and buried it in the mulch.
That’s nature…
While I consider myself lucky to have seen this beautiful bobcat up close, especially during daylight hours, we do have to remember that these cats are always in survival mode and should never be approached. Marco Island does have feral cats and if you have ever driven into the Eagles Nest parking lot at night, you might spot a few. A lot of these cats are perfect meals for Bobcats. Bobcats also stalk the mangroves looking for raccoons, birds and snakes. It’s not uncommon to see a Bobcat swim from island to island as well, as they are excellent swimmers. Just check out this picture from @marcoisland_fl on Instagram:
Just last year at this time, I was unloading kayaks from my truck down to the launch area of Capri Paddlecraft Park for a kayak tour, when I turned around and came face to face with a Bobcat. I immediately took a picture. The whole encounter lasted around 15 seconds, as we stared each other down. The bobcat pranced away and into the mangrove roots to look for its next meal. There are always Raccoons playing around at the park, drinking freshwater from the hose and jumping into the garbage cans, so it’s a perfect place to find a quick meal for a Bobcat. So next time you see a big cat lurking on Marco Island… remember to look at the tail. If it’s a long tail, it’s a Panther. If it’s a short tail, it’s a Bobcat.
If you’re hoping to some wildlife, book a Kayak Tour today with Paddle Marco!
Written by: Glenn @ Paddle Marco