Bobcats Are Being Spotted In Lower Michigan, Are They A Threat?

Bobcats are being spotted more and more in lower Michigan, but do they pose any threat?

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Bobcat on My Trail Camera

One of my hobbies is setting up trail cameras to watch deer from June all the way to the end of January. I like to watch the deer horns grow, plus monitor the deer in my area to know which deer to harvest and which deer to let grow longer.

I often get a lot of other animals on my trail cameras like coyotes, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, possums, skunks, porcupines, and an occasional bear, cats, dogs, birds, but this year I have been getting photos of a bobcat.

From the looks of the two photos above, I may have more than one bobcat in the area.

Michigan Bobcats

Typically bobcats are very common in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula.

Bobcats used to be all over the Lower Peninsula but due to all the logging that went on in the lower part of the state in the late 1880s they pretty much disappeared. Since the woods have bounced back, naturally it seems bobcats have as well.

Bobcats are nocturnal animals since they hunt at night so they are rarely spotted during the day but they are here. They are twice as big as a house cat and have a very short tail hence the name bobcat.

Are Bobcats A Threat?

Even though a bobcat looks much more intimidating than an ordinary house cat, they are no threat to humans. Bobcats do their best to avoid humans with a diet that is basically small animals like squirrels, mice, rats, chickens, rabbits, birds, feral cats, and the occasional small fawn.

If you know you have a bobcat near your house, it is very unlikely that it will eat your cat or a small dog, but it is possible so keep that in mind when letting your small pets out.