A bobcat died hanging in a Safety Harbor tree. Animal lovers want answers.

For days last week a bobcat, once lithe and powerful, hung limp from a Safety Harbor tree.

It had died just that way, clinging to a branch 30 feet in the air, frozen in time.

The dead animal was at once awful and peaceful, its head lulled to one side, resting on a branch while its front legs remained wrapped around the tree limb.

The peculiar scene raised questions from residents in the Country Villas neighborhood in Safety Harbor and animal advocates in the area. Chief among them — how does an animal die in such a position? And how does one get it down?

Animal advocates believe the likely culprit in the bobcat’s death is rat poison, though they also have raised the possibility of a disease that has been harming wildcats in South Florida.

The swirling questions led to calls for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to perform a necropsy on the bobcat, the first step in determining what happened to the animal. But it would take days of coordinated effort and multiple volunteers to retrieve the bobcat’s body first.

Bobcats live across the country, including throughout the state, according to the University of Florida. They are about twice the size of an average domestic cat and are identified by their small black spots and short tails that appear dipped in black ink.

The animals can live just about anywhere, including urban areas, but they prefer thick brush for hunting, the university said. Bobcats are smaller than other cat species, like a Florida panther, which allows them to adapt more easily.

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife, bobcats are stealthy and often go unseen “though their numbers are abundant.”

But even these animals’ limits are being tested by increased development. The university said bobcat populations have declined in recent years.

“As Florida becomes more urbanized, we’re basically reducing all the wildlife areas,” said Fred Brisard, a wildlife photographer who documented the dead bobcat. “Why an animal as big as this bobcat is actually in an urban area is kind of surprising.”

Late Wednesday, Fairl Thomas, a wildlife volunteer rescuer for Birds in Helping Hands, had been tagged several times on Facebook about the bobcat. Then someone sent a photo to her.

“I looked at the photo a little more closely and realized quite how bizarre of a scenario this is, because a bobcat doesn’t just die in that position,” Thomas said in a phone interview with the Tampa Bay Times. “That’s not normal.”

Thomas suspected the animal had somehow ingested rat poison. But without further testing, it would be impossible to confirm.

About two years ago, wildlife lovers were devastated by the death of a family of great horned owls in Safety Harbor’s Philippe Park, more than two miles from the bobcat. Necropsies found they had died of rat poison, possibly ingested by eating poisoned rats.

The poison commonly sickens animals, including pets and people, that eat the contaminated rodents or come in contact with the baits directly. The death of the owl family prompted the creation of “Safety Harbor Owls,” a group dedicated to educating the public on the dangers of some rat poisons and rescuing injured animals, of which Thomas is a member.

Thomas’ assumptions were strong enough that she wanted a necropsy performed on the bobcat, but without help from Florida Fish and Wildlife, the necropsy would cost hundreds of dollars.

The owner of the home where the tree with the bobcat was located had called the wildlife commission earlier that week, Thomas said. However, because the animal was so high up and already dead, officials said there was nothing they could do.

Thomas spent Wednesday night and much of Thursday on the phone with various wildlife commission officials trying to find a solution.

It wasn’t until Thomas thought to mention a disease that harms cat species in South Florida, feline leukomyelopathy, that she really got the attention of the agency, she said.

“All I had to do was name drop the disease and say, ‘You know this a really strange case, we know that it’s not something natural that killed this animal,’” Thomas said.

The disease has remained largely in Southwest Florida, but she told officers they should have the bobcat necropsied to make sure the neurological disorder has not traveled north.

The disease affects the animal’s spine and causes coordination issues. Officials believe there have been 69 probable cases — 32 panthers and 37 bobcats — based on behavioral observation caught on video. However, the true number of affected animals is unknown.

It was enough to get officials to agree to sponsor the necropsy, however, it remained largely in Thomas’ hands to find a way to get the bobcat out of the tree.

Andy Zodrow, a former Safety Harbor commissioner and a friend of Thomas, tried to get the bobcat down with a rope Wednesday night with no success.

The following day, after Thomas had received the go-ahead on a necropsy, she contacted Aaron Tonry, a volunteer tree climber she calls upon for wildlife rescues. When she told him about the situation, he was up for the task.

Brisard documented the retrieval. About a dozen people had gathered to watch Tonry work, including Florida Fish and Wildlife officers, Brisard said.

Brisard grew up in Florida when much of the state was still untouched by development. He’d seen bobcats before, but this was one of the biggest. The bobcat, stretched out as it was, was likely about 2 feet long, he said.

In about 30 seconds, Tonry had climbed the tree using a rope with a weight on the other end and reached the bobcat.

Brisard said he quickly picked up the animal and put it in a bag so it could be transported.

“One reason you want to remove the animal is out of respect, but secondly you certainly want to know what killed the animal,” Brisard said. “And we have a pretty strong leaning toward, we think, probably (rat poison).”

In late 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed tighter restrictions on certain toxic chemicals used to kill rats and mice. The EPA recommended that only certified pesticide professionals, or employees under their supervision, should be allowed to deploy some of the most lethal poisons.

About a year later, the EPA released a draft of a 130-page document evaluating how they affect endangered species. The document considers a number of ways to mitigate unintended animal exposures, like making some rat poison bait stations non-refillable and adding information regarding endangered species to all labels, among other suggestions.

According to the EPA, it expects to complete the final evaluation by November.

Thomas said that she’s seen questions about why rat poison animal deaths seem to be prevalent in Safety Harbor, but she said it’s a nationwide issue.

“Everybody needs to be a part of this issue,” Thomas said. “Because if you really look for them, those black poison boxes are everywhere.”

Times staff writer Zachary T. Sampson contributed to this report.