So a bobcat walks into a bar..

AZjeff

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Seriously it did in the town we lived in before we moved here. It had been seen numerous times that day as it made it's way from one side of the town to the other. It was a biker bar and "hold my beer while I take a pic" had predictable results. It left the bar and got cornered in the parking lot against a cement block wall and when the police showed up they shot it, sadly it took 7 or 8 shots for them to hit it.

Bad day for the bobcat, good day for the bar, they got lots of publicity and had tee shirts printed.

 
S It was a biker bar and "hold my beer while I take a pic" had predictable results.

Like General Gerard said at Wavre before Waterloo, "marching to the sound of the guns" can be both a noble and wise choice.

Confronting a dangerous wild predator on that theme never is.

We should milk this "... walks into a _____ " for as long as we can. ;)
 
Like General Gerard said at Wavre before Waterloo, "marching to the sound of the guns" can be both a noble and wise choice.

Confronting a dangerous wild predator on that theme never is.

We should milk this "... walks into a _____ " for as long as we can. ;)
A Cajun walks into a bar with his alligator and asks: "Do you serve lawyers here?"
The bartender replies: "Yes, of course we do!"
The man says, "OK, I will have a beer for myself and a lawyer for my alligator."
 
Yeah, shoot then ask questions. How did the police know it was rabid? Did they have a crystal ball? Did they ask it? 🙄
I don't like it either. But simply because it walked into a bar, that's not normal behavior at all. A wild animal that does not run away from people is most likely rabid. Shooting it was the right thing.
 
I don't like it either. But simply because it walked into a bar, that's not normal behavior at all. A wild animal that does not run away from people is most likely rabid. Shooting it was the right thing.
How is it determined that a wild animal is rabid because it approaches people? Seriously, educate me so that I know. I could have easily Googled my question but chose not to go the easy route. I see your knowledge here on the forum, so I think you might know the answer and I can learn something.
 
How is it determined that a wild animal is rabid because it approaches people? Seriously, educate me so that I know. I could have easily Googled my question but chose not to go the easy route. I see your knowledge here on the forum, so I think you might know the answer and I can learn something.
When treating someone who has been bitten by a wild animal (which has escaped) a physician will try to determine whether the animal had rabies. The test is whether the animal was acting normally. If you cornered and grabbed a weasel and it bit you, you were being stupid but it was acting normally. But if a fox came onto your front step and bit you it definitely wasn't and it probably had rabies.

When the wild animal has been killed, it can be tested for rabies. But best not to damage the head.

When a tame animal (a dog say) is the source of a bite you can observe it for a few days and if it stays healthy it didn't have rabies (which is always fatal). I believe there is one documented case of a human that survived rabies - so nothing in medicine is ever always, or ever never - but in this case close enough to always.

The treatment for rabies used to be a long series of daily injections. Probably still is. You don't want to put someone through that for no good reason.
 
When treating someone who has been bitten by a wild animal (which has escaped) a physician will try to determine whether the animal had rabies. The test is whether the animal was acting normally. If you cornered and grabbed a weasel and it bit you, you were being stupid but it was acting normally. But if a fox came onto your front step and bit you it definitely wasn't and it probably had rabies.

When the wild animal has been killed, it can be tested for rabies. But best not to damage the head.

When a tame animal (a dog say) is the source of a bite you can observe it for a few days and if it stays healthy it didn't have rabies (which is always fatal). I believe there is one documented case of a human that survived rabies - so nothing in medicine is ever always, or ever never - but in this case close enough to always.

The treatment for rabies used to be a long series of daily injections. Probably still is. You don't want to put someone through that for no good reason.
What you replied is basically what I already knew. Maybe not all of it, but mostly. And, I thank you for educating me on the parts I didn't know.
But how did the police know it was rabid?
Oh, if someone tries to corner me, I too will try to defend myself. Do I have rabies? :ROFLMAO: :rolleyes:
 
What you replied is basically what I already knew. Maybe not all of it, but mostly. And, I thank you for educating me on the parts I didn't know.
But how did the police know it was rabid?
Oh, if someone tries to corner me, I too will try to defend myself. Do I have rabies? :ROFLMAO: :rolleyes:
What ecotourist is saying is, cornering and animal and it biting you when it can't escape is normal. A bobcat walking into a bar full of people and attacking several people is not normal behavior for a wild animal. That alone leads to the suspicion of rabies. The behavior of the animal was consistant with a rabid animal.

And the animal was tested and the correct decision was made, the animal was rabid.

Besides, how would you treat all the people in contact with it if it got away? You needed to kill it to confirm rabies. If by chance it was not rabid, they would not need all those shots in the stomach. If it got away, you would need to treat everyone that came into contact with it or its saliva. I don't think people who come down with rabies will survive.
 
Because they don't approach people. I grew up on a small farm. If a fox comes up to you, its sick and most likely rabid. Same thing for bobcats, feral cats, raccoons, etc. They just won't come up to you like that.
Mr. Spasm, with all due respect, I don't accept that reply. I grew up on the swamp and bayou. We had ALL kinds of wild creatures. If a gator or snake approached me, I would try to catch it! If I wanted it for its hide or meat, then I would shoot it. I did A LOT of that. Snake hides bring decent money. Gator meat is VERY tasty. Their hides make for very good money.
I guess me getting upset about the Wildcat being shot is, I look at it as a cat. And, I love cats. No disrespect towards you Sir.
 
What ecotourist is saying is, cornering and animal and it biting you when it can't escape is normal. A bobcat walking into a bar full of people and attacking several people is not normal behavior for a wild animal. That alone leads to the suspicion of rabies. The behavior of the animal was consistant with a rabid animal.

And the animal was tested and the correct decision was made, the animal was rabid.

Besides, how would you treat all the people in contact with it if it got away? You needed to kill it to confirm rabies. If by chance it was not rabid, they would not need all those shots in the stomach. If it got away, you would need to treat everyone that came into contact with it or its saliva. I don't think people who come down with rabies will survive.
Well said.
 
Mr. Spasm, with all due respect, I don't accept that reply. I grew up on the swamp and bayou. We had ALL kinds of wild creatures. If a gator or snake approached me, I would try to catch it! If I wanted it for its hide or meat, then I would shoot it. I did A LOT of that. Snake hides bring decent money. Gator meat is VERY tasty. Their hides make for very good money.
I guess me getting upset about the Wildcat being shot is, I look at it as a cat. And, I love cats. No disrespect towards you Sir.
No problem!(y)
 
Especially cats don't approach anything they aren't familiar with. Sure house cats might but ferals won't and neither will a bobcat. Their instinct is to run first and then find out if it was dangerous.

We have some foxes here that are used to humans but even they tend to stay several feet away.

here you can see normal but inquisitive behaviour (fox): the animal seems used to people present



I don't like trigger happy people either (cops or not) but rabies is a real threat and there wasn't any other way in this case.
 
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