A North Carolina man is “lucky to be alive” after being taken down from behind by a bobcat in his carport as he was unloading groceries earlier this month.
Scott Jackson, who lives in Eastwood, about 65 miles southwest of Raleigh, was getting groceries from the back of his vehicle when he heard a growl and saw his chickens scatter. Then he looked down and saw the snarling bobcat underneath the back of his car, as reported by ABC11 WTVD.
https://www.facebook.com/ABC11/posts/10158939738272550
Jackson backed away, but then he turned around to go inside the house and “that’s when he crawled on me and took me down on the carport,” he told WTVD.
“He had me face down in the carport,” Jackson told Sandhills Sentinel.
Jackson twisted the bobcat’s paw until it finally let go, but not before suffering 12 puncture wounds to his shoulder and back. Jackson raced inside and called for help.
Also on FTW Outdoors: Two campers asleep in tent injured in ‘quick and intense’ bear attack
“I couldn’t tell you how long it all lasted. I’d say five seconds, at the most, but it was a scary five seconds,” Jackson told WTVD.
“I’m just a little shell-shocked. I mean, I’ve never had anything quite like that happen to me.”
The Moore County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene of the rare attack but couldn’t find the bobcat.
However, later that day, a homeowner shot and killed a bobcat a few miles away, and that bobcat tested positive for rabies. The Jacksons believe it was the same bobcat. Officials couldn’t confirm the two incidents were related, but do believe the bobcat that attacked Jackson was rabid.
Jackson, who didn’t need stitches, completed his rounds of rabies shots. Certainly, it could have been far worse.
“The ER doctor and the deputies both said he was lucky to be alive, and I was lucky it went for him because I probably wouldn’t have been,” Jackson’s wife Randy told WTVD. Randy had gone inside before the attack.
Jackson told The Pilot, “The doctor in the ER said, ‘If he had been up closer to your jugular, you would’ve been done for.’ He just clamped down on my shoulder and wouldn’t let go until I twisted his leg…
“This was just a freak thing. He was rabid. He doesn’t normally approach adults, but he came after me.”
The Raleigh News&Observer reported that bobcats are found throughout North Carolina and live near trees and swamps, but they are rarely seen.
“Still kind of odd to go outside and not think about it,” Jackson told Sandhills Sentinel. “The only words of wisdom I can give you on this is if you hear a growl, don’t go near it.”
Generic photo of bobcat courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Photo of bobcat killed near site of the attack courtesy of Moore County Sheriff Office.