Bobcat Attempts Massive Leap Over Water

May 23, 2020

A group of fishermen in Louisiana were fishing for blue crab in Pecan Island on April 15 when they witnessed a bobcat leaping impressively across the weir. 

The people who filmed the video were out for a relaxing day of blue crab fishing. At one point they looked up at the weir and noticed a large cat walking confidently and purposefully along the walkway above the water. But it wasn't an oversized housecat. They quickly realized it was a big bobcat.

Catching sight of a bobcat at any time is a special event. They typically hunt at night and avoid contact with humans. Like its domesticated cousins, bobcats don't like water. This one was happy enough to use the man-made structure to avoid it. The fact there were people nearby unfazed him.

He strutted across the planking like it was made for him. As he reached a large expanse of water between the two sides of the bier, the onlookers eagerly watched to see what he would do. Would he turn around and find another route? Would he swim?

One would expect the cat to take his time and sniff the edge of the walk, examine the distance, eye the water, and make up his mind. This furry gentleman knew exactly what he intended to do. He leaped onto the post, took a moment to arrange himself into a perfect launching position, and leaped across the huge expanse.

Viewers gasped as flew across the water almost as if he had wings. On the other side he landed gracefully, no undignified scrabbling for a foothold.

He bounded across a few more of the pilings, safely reaching the other side, disappearing into the woods without a second glance at the astonished audience. Judging from the video, the fearless feline jumped about seven times his length to get from one side of the bier to the other.

It's proof once again that nature can provide some of the best video footage on the web. What sort of big cats have you seen in the wild? Show pictures or videos if you have in the comments and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family.