Carson Bender, 19, was out turkey hunting in Wisconsin, US, when filmed a bobcat stalking him before it suddenly lunged and mauled his arm
A teen had to use his survival “instincts” after getting mauled by a fierce hunting cat. The terrifying moment was caught on camera as the bobcat went for his arm.
Carson Bender, a 19-year-old from Wisconsin, US, was out turkey hunting when he was attacked by the wild feline. Bender had been hunting on private land outside the small town of Nekoosa in central Wisconsin, roughly 100 miles north of the state capital Madison, when he set up at the base of a tree.
He then turned and spotted a bobcat stalking him from close range. Bender quickly pulled out his phone and began filming as the wild cat crept nearer.
In the footage, which was later shared on his Instagram, the cat was seen locking in on Bender for a few tense moments. Then, in the blink of an eye, it lunged at him, grabbing the teen by the arm before the video cut to black, the New York Post reported.
“I pan over with the phone, and the bobcat is just staring at me,” he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I was like, uh-oh.”
Bender reportedly said he managed to fend the animal off within seconds, and it then fled the scene. He subsequently quipped on social media: “Found out I’m good at calling cats and turkeys!
Bender said that, even after the chaos of the attack, the turkey he was tracking didn’t bolt. He wrote on Instagram: “Missed a bird three minutes later at 35 yards, then headed to the doctor’s office.
“Just a few scratches on the shoulder.” Bender told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “It might sound dumb, but I wanted to kill that turkey that was strutting in.
“It was a lot of action in just a minute or so, but I never really felt threatened and went with my instincts.” After being treated for his bobcat injuries, Bender returned to the very same spot the next morning, set on shooting a turkey.
There are no native wild bobcats in the UK. The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is found in North America.
The only wild cat species considered native to the UK today is the Scottish wildcat. Often described as a larger, stockier “tabby”, it has a distinctive thick, blunt tail with dark bands, and it’s now critically endangered.
It is largely confined to parts of the Scottish Highlands, with conservation and reintroduction work under way. Bobcats are sometimes confused with lynx because they’re closely related.
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