West Bridgewater cop spots bobcat in tree. What was it doing here? Are they dangerous?

WEST BRIDGEWATER — Did you know there are bobcats in Southeastern, Massachusetts?

Just yesterday, a bobcat was spotted hanging out in a tree in West Bridgewater, according to the West Bridgewater Police Department.

“We would have called the fire department for a cat in a tree but…..it was just a bobcat!” they wrote in a post on Facebook on April 11. “One of our dayshift officers had the pleasure of seeing this beautiful bobcat up in a tree in the area of Manley Street and West Street earlier today.”

The post attracted lots of attention from curious residents, receiving more than 500 reactions, 80 comments and 200 shares in less than 24 hours.

“Beautiful cat!” one resident wrote. “Always nice to see the beautiful wildlife in our town,” wrote another.

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Bobcat sightings on the rise in Southeastern, Mass.

The bobcat is the only wild cat that can be found in Massachusetts and while they are mostly found in the central and western parts of the state, over the past few years, residents in southeastern, Massachusetts have reported bobcat sightings at an increasing rate.

According to MassWildlife biologist Dave Wattles, while it’s still rare to see a bobcat in the wild, their population is increasingly expanding into the southeastern part of the state.

“They're an important part of our natural communities and I think it’s another sign of a conservation success story that they are recovering and moving into these areas,” he said.

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How many bobcats are in Southeastern, Mass.?

While bobcats have been around for a long time, Wattles says they’ve historically been in the western two thirds of the state. But now that their population is growing, that has begun to change.

“They’re expanding from their historic ranges, recovering from lows in the population, and they’re spreading to the east,” said Wattles. “We’re seeing it with our bear population, but many of our wildlife species are doing that same thing. It just takes more time for different species to make that recovery than others.”

According to Wattles, there have been an increase in sightings of bobcats in eastern Massachusetts in recent years. “We anticipate that in the coming years, bobcats are going to become well established throughout Southeastern Massachusetts,” he said. “There’s plenty of habitat for them.”

At this time, MassWildlife is not actively monitoring the exact number of bobcats in southeastern Massachusetts, according to Wattles.

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Are bobcats dangerous to humans?

“Bobcat sightings are still relatively rare. For the most part, they’re a pretty shy and elusive animal,” said Wattles.

“We have had increasing reports as they’ve moved into more suburban areas that bobcats are a little more comfortable around people. I speculate that one of the reasons is bird feeders that attract the prey base of bobcats, like rodents and rabbits,” said Wattles. “They’re used to spending a little more time in backyards, but if they encounter someone, they’re going to leave. They’re pretty easy to scare off if someone had one in their yard and didn’t want it there.”

Bobcats can pose an occasional issue with livestock, particularly with free-range chickens, says Wattles.

“The very few times a bobcat has attacked a human, they are obviously rabid,” said Wattles, noting that a bobcat attack has only been documented five or six times in the past.

“If you have a rabid bobcat, they will come at you with all four sets of claws. If someone were to have that encounter, you're doing everything you can to fight off that animal, unfortunately. But it's very, very rare,” he said.

Should I be worried about my kids?

According to Wattles, there has never been an incident where a bobcat went after a child.

“I'm not going to say it can never happen, but the risk is exceptionally low,” he said.

What should I do if I see a bobcat?

“It’s not a super common sighting, so enjoy it,” said Wattles. “If someone is uncomfortable about it, they can use the same recommendations we have for hazing coyotes, for example, make some loud noises, chase it, yell at it,” he said. “But there really isn’t any cause for the public to have concern about having them around.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Bobcat seen in West Bridgewater. What to know in Southeastern, Mass.