Unusually bold bobcat shot after it attacks animals, stalks people in small Iowa town

When Terri Jensen heard her senior dog Bippy let out a blood-curdling scream, her first thought was the dog was having a medical emergency.

But as she ran outside of her home in Martensdale, Jensen said she saw something she will never forget: A bobcat was holding the 16-year-old blind and deaf Bippy by the neck and was making its way around the garage and away from the house.

"I started screaming as loud as I could scream," Jensen said. "He tried to take her around the corner of the garage and I kept screaming and screaming. Finally he dropped her, and I picked her up and put her in the house."

For several weeks, a bobcat has been spotted in Martensdale, a town of about 400 people in Warren County, 10 miles west of Indianola. Now, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is searching for the bobcat, which may be injured after a neighbor shot it Tuesday when it tried to get into a chicken coop.

The animal evaded capture after it was injured, according to Vince Evelsizer, wildlife biologist for the DNR. The agency has set up traps around town to try to capture the rogue animal.

Evelsizer said it's abnormal for bobcats to be spotted so often in the daylight, particularly in areas close to where people live. One theory is it may have been raised by humans.

"Most bobcats are afraid of people and avoid them and typically (are) active at night," he said. "This particular bobcat in Martensdale was acting unusually and was seemingly bold."

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'He's not afraid of people at all,' Bippy's owner says

Once Jensen was able to get Bippy safely inside Sunday, she thought the bobcat had run away. Instead it spent 45 minutes clawing at her door, she said.

It then circled her pickup truck before scaling an 8-foot-tall fence across the street, where it sat on a short wall and watched her property.

"He just sat there like he was defying you, because he's not afraid of people at all," Jensen said.

Bippy was taken to the vet who patched up her wounds and gave her some antibiotics and pain medications. Jensen said Bippy was a little "touch and go" Monday, seemed a lot better Tuesday but died just after 4 a.m. Wednesday.

Sandy Poundstone said she has seen the bobcat around her home multiple times. The first time it was sniffing around near her front porch.

"When I saw it, I clapped and yelled and it just kind of looked up at me and didn't seem really concerned," she said.

Poundstone said it kept coming back to her home, and the last time she saw it was on Monday when it came up to her door. She said she pounded on the glass and it walked away.

"I'm terrified. My anxiety level is through the roof," she said. "I do feed strays once in a while and I'm really worried for their safety — for all the pets in town."

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DNR: Fearless bobcat is unusual

Evelsizer said it's unclear what prompted the bobcat's sudden fearlessness. Regardless, Evelsizer stressed that the bobcat's behavior was atypical, and in general these animals do not pose a major safety threat to people.

"We would also remind folks that they don't need to be afraid of the outdoors," he said. "They don't need to be afraid of bobcats typically. However, this one is acting far different than most other bobcats and so that's why it's being dealt with specifically."

Bobcats are one of three wildcats native to Iowa, along with the lynx and mountain lion. Bobcats typically are about 3 feet in length, weigh 20 to 30 pounds and have a short “bobbed” tail that’s smaller than 10 inches, according to the DNR.

Normally, bobcat hunting in Iowa is limited to November through January. Evelsizer said the coop owner in Martensdale will not be cited for a violation because the bobcat constituted "a safety issue" to the public.

He said it's possible the gunshot wound may have been fatal, but the DNR will continue searching for the animal until it's found.

"Right now the main objective is to try to recover this animal and then go from there," Evelsizer said.

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Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter @NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at@francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Bobcat shot in Martensdale, Iowa, after attacking dog, chicken coop