'She Was Ready to Come Home': Missing Bobcat Found on National Zoo Property
Source: NBC 4
The bobcat missing from the National Zoo since Monday morning has been found safe on zoo grounds, the zoo said Wednesday.
Shortly before 5 p.m., the Zoo issued a press release about their find, including a photo of Ollie the bobcat in a cage.
A visitor spotted the bobcat near the zoo's birdhouse and tipped off zoo keepers, zoo staff said at a news conference Wednesday evening. Zoo curator Craig Saffoe said the zoo then set traps in the area.
"[We] crossed our fingers, walked away and literally within 15 minutes the birdhouse keepers called us back and told us, 'we have a bobcat in the trap up here,'" Saffoe said.
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Read more: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Bobcat-Update-412423303.html
herding cats
(19,549 posts)Yeah, I know, not a big story in our current climate. Still, I need a happy ending, and this fits the bill.
LisaM
(27,759 posts)That would send me running back home, too.
braddy
(3,585 posts)admiring audience to watch and admire her, she had a pretty good deal.
global1
(25,167 posts)Coventina
(26,846 posts)mchill
(1,015 posts)Why they will leave one owner for another if the food is better.
Skittles
(152,964 posts)hoping for an exotic snack
Tess49
(1,577 posts)He actually was mine (I think), and would meet me at the door when I got home from my late shift at the hospital. He ate, and slept in, and then, when I left for work around 2pm, he would go across the street and spend a few hours with the family there. When they let him outside, he went to the elderly couple's house that was two doors down. One day, he came in and had obviously been to the vet (his tail was partially shaved) for treatment for a wound (per the second unsuspecting owner). His gig was busted when the three of us were standing outside talking and "our" cat appeared. I kept a collar and tags on him. He would take them off before he headed out for the day. I would find them on the porch. Beautiful big orange boy. He was fed at every stop of his day.
Granny M
(1,395 posts)My son's cat showed up in their backyard one day as a kitten. Of course, my daughter-in-law made sure he was fed, and they put up "Found Kitten" signs in the neighbourhood. No luck in a week or two. So they figured he was theirs, then. Took him to the vet for vaccinations and neutering. Well, the guy started growing - really GROWING. Two years on, he's as round as he is long. They figured out he makes the rounds and several neighbours are feeding him.
Tess49
(1,577 posts)all just figured he was supposed to be that big.
Beaverhausen
(24,466 posts)Some cats are just such characters.
Tess49
(1,577 posts)blue sky at night
(3,242 posts)She is Ohio University Bobcat herself! She was in DC for the march also and loved every minute of it!!
IronLionZion
(45,256 posts)Glad she's safe
procon
(15,805 posts)Poor baby, she's safely back in enclosure... hope they found how she escaped so she doesn't get out again.
TDale313
(7,820 posts)MontanaMama
(23,238 posts)but the cat came back. It just couldn't stay away.
My son used to sing that when he was little! Sigh.
TDale313
(7,820 posts)But yeah... she knew where home and dinner were.
3catwoman3
(23,812 posts)Along with many others, I was very afraid some idiot would harm or kill her.
petronius
(26,580 posts)why it suddenly has far fewer birds...
Good kitty, glad she's home!
Warpy
(110,900 posts)s/he is usually within a hundred meters or so of home. The exceptions are unfixed males who can wander for miles following the scent of a female cat in heat.
The problem with a cat who gets out is that they don't seem to recognize their people outside the house.
Cats are weird, yo.
Calista241
(5,584 posts)To see where they went. Owners were AMAZED at how far and wide their cats roamed.
One cat was making a daily 4 mile trek to the house where the family used to live over 3 years before.
bdamomma
(63,652 posts)they know where their food is.
haele
(12,581 posts)They wander around for a bit - no more than about 100 - 300 ft., then come back and hide under some bushes until someone notices them or leaves the door open.
The only dangers they face when outside is typically a car, poisoned vermin or plants, coyotes, dogs, or larger wildlife. And unless a coyote or dog dragged them off, or they got inadvertently transported somewhere else because they hid in a vehicle or in a box or trashcan, they're usually found close by - typically hiding within 10 ft of the door, window, or hole they used to get out.
Cats that spend their time indoor/outdoor are a different story. Cats used to the outdoors can have a territory up to a mile away.
Ollie just did her walkabout, and decided a comfortable "den" and regular food was preferable to constantly looking over her shoulder expending energy hunting food that could potentially get away.
Haele