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At approximately 7 a.m. near the north end of Putnam Valley on Monday, Sept. 27, an area resident captured a large bobcat slinking through his backyard when he went to feed his chickens, who were unharmed by the animal.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, “Bobcats are about twice the size of a domestic cat and usually smaller than the Canada lynx.
"Their fur is dense, short, and soft and is generally shorter and more reddish in the summer and longer and more gray in the winter.
"Spotting occurs in some bobcats and is faded in others. The face has notable long hairs along the cheeks and black tufts at the tops of each ear.
“Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are widely valued as a resident wildlife species in New York, although they are rarely seen in the wild due to their secretive behavior.
"All indications, including harvest trends, suggest that bobcats have increased in abundance here and in surrounding states, and observations have become more common in recent years.
“Based on analysis of harvest data, we estimate New York’s bobcat population to be approximately 5,000 animals in areas where regulated hunting and trapping seasons have been in place since the 1970s.”
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