The bobcat lastly makes its transfer. Will Hoffman / Facebook
When most individuals take into consideration mule deer predators, they image canids and large cats—particularly wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions. But bobcats are simply as intelligent and tenacious as their bigger-bodied cousins. As you may see within the video under, these nimble cats are greater than able to taking down a deer.
The video was recorded a little bit greater than two years in the past by Will Hoffman, a giant recreation hunter from Idaho. Hoffman spends lots of time exploring his native mountains, chasing elk and mule deer in season and attempting to find sheds the remainder of the calendar yr. He’s had loads of wildlife encounters, however he nonetheless ranks the savage take-down video as one of many coolest issues he’s ever seen within the wild. He says the video has been seen greater than 20 million occasions since he first shared it on social media in 2020.
“I’ve seen several mountain lions, but I don’t think I’d ever glassed up a bobcat in the wild,” Hoffman tells Outdoor Life. “It was just so crazy. I’ll never forget it.”
Capturing the Footage
Hoffman explains that he was glassing for mule deer in a steep canyon when he recorded the video. It was Oct. 11, the second day of deer season, and Hoffman had spent many of the morning shivering behind a recognizing scope.
“I was watching a group of 11 or so deer, and there was a decent 3-point, but not something I was going to shoot,” Hoffman says. “I kept going back to this group to see if a bigger buck would step out, and a couple times I caught just a trace of movement. And then at one point I saw this bobcat.”
Hoffman watched the bobcat by way of his binoculars for the following 30 to 40 minutes. The deer continued to feed within the opening, fully unaware of the cat that was circling. After singling out the smallest muley within the group, the bobcat tried creeping up on the yearling just a few occasions, however the buck stored getting in its method, inflicting it to again off and alter its angle. When it dropped into the ravine under the deer, Hoffman knew the bobcat was on the brink of pounce. He grabbed his cellphone scope and began recording.
“It was around zero degrees that day and blowing 20. I could even see the trees moving, so it was perfect stalking weather,” says Hoffman. “I’d watch [the bobcat] move in, and then he’d back out. Then he dropped down and started working up that ravine. And I’m sitting here trying to keep it together because I was just so amped watching this happen.”
When the bobcat lastly pounces, it’s solely inches away from the yearling muley. It jumps up and grabs ahold of the deer’s neck, and the 2 come tumbling down the drainage. After falling twenty toes or so into some downed bushes, the bobcat seems to lose after which regain its grip on the deer. The video then pans out as Hoffman loses the 2 animals within the scuffle.
“I tried to move my scope down just a little bit and ended up fumbling the video,” he says. “I honestly don’t know if he killed that deer or not, but I glassed that mountainside for like an hour afterwards and never could find him.”
More Examples of Bobcats Preying on Deer
While it’s unclear if the cat secured its meal on this occasion, it wouldn’t be the primary time {that a} bobcat has been documented killing a deer. This is certainly extra widespread amongst whitetails, that are sometimes smaller than mule deer. Bobcats are additionally extra plentiful within the Southwest and the Southeast than they’re in Idaho. One examine from the Florida Everglades discovered that bobcats killed not less than 33 fawns and 6 grownup whitetails over a three-year interval.
“Throughout their range, bobcats prey on small- to medium-sized species,” the authors of that examine wrote. “Bobcats also kill large prey, such as white-tailed deer…[while] in some areas, bobcats prey extensively on fawns of white-tailed and mule deer.”
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Looking on the Western United States, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources lists bobcats as a typical predator of mule deer, particularly in areas the place cougar populations are decrease. And in Wyoming, recreation wardens discovered proof of a bobcat-killed mule deer as not too long ago as two years in the past. After coming throughout the partially buried carcass, a wildlife officer arrange a path digicam and captured footage of the bobcat returning to the kill web site to feed.