Bobcats are being spotted more and more in lower Michigan, but do they pose any threat?

Get our free mobile app

Bobcat on My Trail Camera

Tommy Carroll/TSM
Tommy Carroll/TSM
loading...

One of my hobbies is setting up trail cameras to watch deer from June all the way to the end of January. I like to watch the deer horns grow, plus monitor the deer in my area to know which deer to harvest and which deer to let grow longer.

Tommy Carroll/TSM
Tommy Carroll/TSM
loading...

I often get a lot of other animals on my trail cameras like coyotes, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, possums, skunks, porcupines, and an occasional bear, cats, dogs, birds, but this year I have been getting photos of a bobcat.

From the looks of the two photos above, I may have more than one bobcat in the area.

Michigan Bobcats

smcarter/ThinkStock/GettyStock
smcarter/ThinkStock/GettyStock
loading...

Typically bobcats are very common in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.

Bobcats used to be all over the Lower Peninsula but due to all the logging that went on in the lower part of the state in the late 1880s they pretty much disappeared. Since the woods have bounced back, naturally it seems bobcats have as well.

Anita Elder Design/ThinkStock/GettyStock
Anita Elder Design/ThinkStock/GettyStock
loading...

Bobcats are nocturnal animals since they hunt at night so they are rarely spotted during the day but they are here. They are twice as big as a house cat and have a very short tail hence the name bobcat.

Are Bobcats A Threat?

Lynx sitting in a pile of snow in the forest
Lisatherrien/ThinkStock/GettyStock
loading...

Even though a bobcat looks much more intimidating than an ordinary house cat, they are no threat to humans. Bobcats do their best to avoid humans with a diet that is basically small animals like squirrels, mice, rats, chickens, rabbits, birds, feral cats, and the occasional small fawn.

If you know you have a bobcat near your house, it is very unlikely that it will eat your cat or a small dog, but it is possible so keep that in mind when letting your small pets out.

Michigan's Deadliest Animals & Critters

You may have even seen a few of these in your home or around the state.

SEE MORE: Animals That Are on Michigan's Endangered Species List

More From 97.5 NOW FM