Mattapoisett Family Captures Fifteen Minute Encounter With Bold Bobcat

You don't necessarily have to go to the Buttonwood Park Zoo to get up close and personal with a bobcat. A Mattapoisett family got the suprise of a lifetime when they saw a young bobcast lingering in their yard for a remarkable 15 minutes, and the encounter was all caught on video. While the family has mixed emotions about having a bobcat living so close to their home, it is an absolutely beautiful animal by all accounts.

When Did the Bobcat Sighting Happen?

Devin Sprague told Fun 107 the sighting happened Sunday evening around 7:45 p.m., near the end of Mattapoisett Neck Road. Sprague said he first spotted the bobcat out of the corner of his eye while covering the grill, and rather than scaring it off, he quietly went inside to grab his wife and kids so they could all watch from the window.

What Was the Bobcat Doing?

The bobcat spent its time chasing rabbits around the yard, seemingly unbothered by the family watching from inside. "He didn't look too concerned, which is almost disturbing a little bit, because you want him to be afraid of humans a bit," Sprague said. He added that the bobcat looked toward the windows a few times and could clearly hear them, but it did not seem frightened, eventually moving on out of the yard on its own. The video was recorded by Sprague's wife, Tabi.

Tabi Sprague via Facebook

Should Families Be Concerned About Bobcats?

Sprague said his first instinct was to research whether the sighting should be a concern, especially with a young daughter at home. "Everything I read, they should be scared of people, even kids," Sprague said. Still, he added that he and his wife plan to make sure they keep an eye on their daughter and do not let her go outside by herself.

Watch Full Bobcat Videos https://tinyurl.com/5b6mxb8s

Has the Bobcat Been Spotted Before?

This is not the only bobcat sighting in the Mattapoisett neighborhood. A neighbor told Sprague he saw the same bobcat with a rabbit in its mouth a few weeks earlier. "Where there's one, there's more," Sprague said. He noted that bobcats tend to establish a territory and often patrol during dusk and early morning hours while hunting for food.