# Has anybody ever been killed by a bobcat? (Not urgent) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835 "2013-07-18T13:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/1 "2013-07-18T13:34:28Z")
I was wondering if a human has ever been killed by a bobcat. Or a lynx. What is the smallest cat that has been able to kill an adult human? Any info would be appreciated. And no, it is not urgent, as I am not presently in any danger from a bobcat, lynx, or other wild feline, so far as I can tell… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/2 "2013-07-18T14:19:32Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > I am not presently in any danger from a bobcat, lynx, or other wild feline, so far as I can tell… With cats you just never really know, do ya? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/3 "2013-07-18T14:20:03Z")
There are some recent reports of bobcat attacks in the U.S. but they had rabies. Everything I can find says that there are no documented fatal attacks against humans. Bobcats are fairly small (20 - 30 lbs) and very reclusive so I suppose I can believe it at least for adults. I am sure a bobcat could kill a child or small and/or weak person under the right conditions. I can’t find any examples of it ever happening however. [http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120823/ARTICLES/120829834](http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120823/ARTICLES/120829834) Mountain lions are the only cats native to the U.S. that will occasionally attack and kill people as far as I know (there may be a few jaguars in South Texas that could kill a person as well) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/4 "2013-07-18T14:51:40Z")
I haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/5 "2013-07-18T14:59:28Z")
This is a favorite site of mine, scroll down to the 2nd to last row, click on the Dingo Trial. She claims a dingo took her baby; Now, not a feline, but interesting anyway. > **[Famous Trials - UMKC School of Law - Prof. Douglas Linder](http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/ftrials.htm)** > > The Web's largest and most visited collection of > materials relating to famous trials, from Socrates to Clinton. The > site includes original essays, images, primary documents, maps, > transcript excerpts, chronologies, video clips,... ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/6 "2013-07-18T15:13:23Z")
An uninjured, adult human? I doubt it. Even most cougar fatalities are children, and that’s a much, much larger animal. On the other (unverified) hand, housecats supposedly kill numerous humans each year (usually by tripping them), but I expect that’s not what you had in mind, either. (I’m also assuming you’re discounting things like rabies and other diseases transferred from animal to human). ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/7 "2013-07-18T16:57:56Z")
Never heard of it, but I read that a Swiss hunter strangled one during the nineties. I believed it was in 1995. He claimed that the lynx was harassing him – following him around and biting and going about and at last he lost his temper and got in a fight with him and strangled the bastard. True story. (At least as recounted in reputable newspaper.) But the other way around, never heard of it. Lynxes are strange though. I had a period of my life for a few years when I collected news stories about lynxes like Charles Fort collected news about falling frogs, but never found one about a lynx killing a man. I wonder who that Swiss hunter was, must have been a badass. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/8 "2013-07-18T17:03:56Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > Never heard of it, but I read that a Swiss hunter strangled one during the nineties. I believed it was in 1995. He claimed that the lynx was harassing him – following him around and biting and going about and at last he lost his temper and got in a fight with him and strangled the bastard. True story. (At least as recounted in reputable newspaper.) But the other way around, never heard of it. Lynxes are strange though. I had a period of my life for a few years when I collected news stories about lynxes like Charles Fort collected news about falling frogs, but never found one about a lynx killing a man. I wonder who that Swiss hunter was, must have been a badass. Wow! Fascinating incident. the guy likely had to be scratched up pretty badly during this altercation, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/9 "2013-07-18T17:21:28Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > With cats you just never really know, do ya? No, they’re sneaky like that. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/10 "2013-07-18T17:53:25Z")
[http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2001/cougar\_kills\_skier.html](http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2001/cougar_kills_skier.html) Stalked and killed by a hungry cougar… ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/11 "2013-07-18T18:03:20Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > [Woman skier dies after cougar attack near Rocky](http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2001/cougar_kills_skier.html) > Stalked and killed by a hungry cougar… Cougars are _much_ larger than bobcats. Bobcats can sometimes be mistaken for feral house cats–their sizes overlap. ETA: To the OP, FWIW, I have never heard of a bobcat killing a human. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/12 "2013-07-18T18:23:00Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Stalked and killed by a hungry cougar… I was stalked by a hungry cougar once. The trick is to leave the bar when she’s in the can. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/13 "2013-07-18T18:23:07Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > What is the smallest cat that has been able to kill an adult human? With cats, your are probably more likely to die from infected wounds than from the attack itself. This has certainly [happened](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4987422/Cat-lover-named-Tibbles-dies-from-infection-from-15-pets.html) with domestic cats. So if you are not limiting yourself to an immediate kill, then it is quite probable that smaller cats have killed humans, particularly humans without access to antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/14 "2013-07-18T18:25:50Z")
There was that actress that tripped over her housecat and died, though - it’s in the Strange Celebrity Deaths thread in the Cafe. [Beulah Bondi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beulah_Bondi)! That’s her! Technically, she died from complications from broken ribs, but those ribs never would’ve been broken if it wasn’t for the cat. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/15 "2013-07-18T18:27:28Z")
Cherica Adams. Oh, wait, that was a [Panther](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rae_Carruth). ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/16 "2013-07-18T19:04:28Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Wow! Fascinating incident. the guy likely had to be scratched up pretty badly during this altercation, don’t you think? Pardon me, Roy… ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/17 "2013-07-18T19:06:29Z")
Bobcats take my chickens occasionally. They aren’t strong enough to carry a full sized hen over an eight foot fence (the one they came in over). That isn’t a real big animal. Fast though. Really, really fast and totally silent. Ours are the size of a big, long-legged house cat. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/18 "2013-07-18T19:18:46Z")
We let a friend deer hunt on the ranch and he reported that after a couple of hours of sitting still up on a rock ledge he heard the faintest of rustles behind him. He turned and there, ten feet behind him, was a bobcat just sitting and watching him. Certainly it possessed the element of surprise but, rather than employ that, was far more curious than agressive. If this anecdote indicates anything it’s that any holes a bobcat might inflict through your person would likely be from stareing as opposed to an actual malicious attack. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/19 "2013-07-18T19:32:00Z")
Even a small fluffy kitten can trigger a fatal asthma attack on the right person. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835/20 "2013-07-18T19:58:40Z")
[Kitten huffing](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=kitten%20huffing) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anybody-ever-been-killed-by-a-bobcat-not-urgent/663835.md?page=2)