Bobcat ambushing turkey in photo is a cautionary tale for setting up wildlife feeders

Deer feeders are like fast-food joints for wildlife, and that can occasionally include the drama of unruly customers.

One such moment occurred recently in Autauga County, Alabama, when a wild turkey and a bobcat clashed at a tree feeder.

A trail camera monitoring the spot caught what happened next: The turkey is seen pressed to the ground, feathers flying, with the bobcat on its back, swinging away.

Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries officials shared the photos on Facebook Tuesday, including one showing the turkey and a friend feeding peacefully at the same spot days earlier.

The post included a warning: Pick the wrong location for a wildlife feeder and you’re basically setting a trap for the meek.

“Location, Location, Location!” the division wrote. “This juvenile gobbler was likely a regular visitor here until he became a bobcat’s meal. The limited visibility at the feeder due to surrounding ground vegetation worked to the predator’s advantage and resulted in a successful spot-and-stalk.”

Bottom line: Wildlife feeders need to be in “open areas to provide greater visibility and a better chance of escape,” the division said.

The photos, credited to Rusty Fogarty, have generated hundreds of reactions and comments in the past day, many supporting the bobcat’s right to eat. Autauga County is just northwest of Montgomgery.

Bobcats can grow to 4 feet and 40 pounds in Alabama, according to Sciencing.org, and they are typically nocturnal, suggesting the turkey scene was a rare daytime hunting moment.

Baby bobcats are known to be easily mistaken for domestic kittens by human rescuers, TV station WBRC reported last year. However, young bobcats eventually grow to “twice the size of a typical domestic cat” and become aggressive, the station noted.

Among their abilities is a knack for killing and eating venomous rattlesnakes without being bitten, McClatchy News reported last month.

This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 9:19 AM with the headline "Bobcat ambushing turkey in photo is a cautionary tale for setting up wildlife feeders."