It's not everyday you see a bobcat. It's even rarer to see a bobcat snapping up a shark out of the water.
John Bailey was just out on a walk along Vero Beach Monday when he chanced upon a bobcat staring at a shark in the surf. Then as the shark was feeding on some smaller fish, the bobcat pounced on it, leaping into the ocean and dragging the shark onto the beach.
"Initially, it was pretty quick. Spotted it, pulled it up (and) the shark floundered for a while," said Bailey.
"I was so fascinated, I didn't think about being in danger."
Once the bobcat saw him though, it dropped the shark and ran into the nearby woods.
Considering how dramatic the moment was, it was understandable why many may question the authenticity of the picture Bailey took of a bobcat dragging a shark out of the ocean.
Liza Barraco from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that this is the first instance that the agency has seen a bobcat fishing in saltwater but that there was no reason to believe the photo is a fake.
Bobcats are opportunistic predators, so they will take advantage of every opportunity they get. The bobcat must have seen a chance with the shark, so it went in for the kill.
Seth Riley, a wildlife biologist, echoed this sentiment, saying he's also never seen anything like that happen in all the years he spent studying bobcats but it didn't surprise him.
According to the Florida FWC, the shark caught was likely to be an adult Atlantic sharpnose. Responding to remarks that it might actually have been a panther in the picture, the agency said its experts believe the hunter was a bobcat. Zooming in close shows the cat's hind legs and its telltale spots, giving it away as a bobcat.
How many bobcats call Florida home is unknown. However, Barraco said that it is possible for the cat to successfully live close to the water if there are enough patches of its natural habitat nearby. This is also possible even if an area is already highly developed.
However, as cunning as a predator as it may be, a bobcat rarely interferes with humans. This must be why, instead of standing its ground when it saw Bailey, the bobcat ran off, leaving its catch behind.
