Bobcats are found in many parts of the commonwealth, but Alejandra Olvera at the Wildlife Center of Virginia rarely sees them.
“They are very secretive, and they’re mainly active during dawn, dusk.”
So she and others at the center were intrigued when someone sent them a photo of a bobcat kitten.
“From the picture, we couldn’t tell the size, so when it got here we were all super shocked. It was so tiny!”
Holding the kitten in her hands, a veterinarian could see she was thin and dehydrated, with wounds on her paws and tail, but they have nursed her back to health and built a special home where she can improve her hunting skills.
“Bobcats, like all felines, have very, very ingrained instincts. You just have to give them that opportunity to trigger those instincts," Olvera explains. "The whole team designed her enclosure to make it as natural as possible and to give her different climbing structures and different experiences, so she can explore, and currently she’s learning how to fish.”
The public can watch on the Wildlife Center’s website, where their critter-cam shows the kitten romping, climbing and playing with a stuffed toy. By spring, her keepers hope she’ll be skilled enough to live in the wild, and for now they’re pleased to see she has no interest or affection for people – warning them off with a growl that’s far scarier than her appearance.
