Bobcats are an ancient American feline species famous for their staking and hunting skills. It’s rare that they come near people, so if you encounter one, you’ve either surprised it or it’s sick. In either case, the best course of action is to back away slowly. Don’t run.
But sometimes it’s possible to let your sense of duty overcome your fears. That’s the choice that two friends were faced with when they encountered a wounded bobcat stuck in an animal trap.
Chris Ward and his friend Aaron made the decision that they couldn’t let the creature suffer and die there, so they embarked on a mission to release it. But the bobcat brain is quite small and an angry, wounded bobcat has no greater instinct than to lash out at everything around it.
The two recorded the encounter, which began with them announcing that they planned to free the feline, despite him being a “mean little dude.”
While he hisses, snarls, and growls, the two approach him without much strategy, just a large stick and a duffel bag to hold around him so he can’t scratch while they try to release him.
You can’t help but feel bad for the poor little guy, who is clearly terrified out of his mind. The humans, on the other hand, seem confident for the most part.
The bobcat has no desire to be pinned down with the bag and lashes out at it with anger.
When they finally manage to pin him down with the double-pronged stick for a brief period of time, he quickly escapes and further harms their efforts by breaking the stick. At this point, you might think this would be better as a two-person job, but apparently, someone has to record this for posterity.
When it begins to look like the cat is getting used to the stick, they almost free him.
The bobcat eventually starts treating the stick as an enemy toy, which gives one of the men a chance to get the bear trap off with his foot. And they finally free him!
The men give the cat a respectful moment to process the ordeal. There’s still a bit of growling and snarling, but no effort by the bobcat to move towards the men.
Finally, he does move, but simply hides under their vehicle.
Of course, cats are terrified by the revving of engines, so once they start the Jeep, he flees to freedom. And he looks just great while scampering away.
Click on the video below to watch this amazing footage!
