‘I have a bobcat in my car’: Deputies remove wild cat caught in vehicle

Deputies in Wisconsin rescued a trapped bobcat that was caught in a vehicle. (Source: WSAW)
Published: Apr. 21, 2023 at 3:39 PM CDT
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PORTAGE COUNTY, Wis. (WSAW/Gray News) - Authorities in Wisconsin responded to a unique call this week.

“I have a bobcat in my car,” is what a caller told a dispatcher in Portage County, according to WSAW.

Deputies with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it was a legitimate call for help Tuesday evening.

A driver told first responders that they didn’t see anything but heard their vehicle strike something. Assuming it was road debris, they got out of their vehicle to take a closer look and ended up seeing a bobcat inside the front bumper.

“You could imagine the shock they were in to find a bobcat in their vehicle,” Portage County Sheriff Mike Lukas said. “My deputies are really good at solving problems, but this one baffled them. So we called in reinforcements with conservation warden Bryan Lockman.”

The team jumped into action once getting a game plan together and was able to free the cat from the vehicle.

Deputies said they moved the bobcat to the bed of a pickup truck and released it back into the wild where it initially got stuck on the road.

According to Lukas, no one was seriously injured, including the driver and the bobcat.