Villager Sam Boatman spotted a bobcat at sunrise Sunday morning on the boardwalk at the Sharon Rose Wiechens Preserve in The Villages.
The avid photographer shot a series of photos as the bobcat ran away from him.
Sightings of bobcats and coyotes are common in The Villages because of large tracks of undeveloped, wooded areas, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. They usually prey on rats, birds and squirrels.
Bobcats are about twice the size of a domestic cat. They are generally tan to yellowish brown with dark brown or black streaks. The under parts are usually white with black spots and the insides of the legs are marked with black bars. The bobcat’s ears are pointed with short, black tufts, while the tail is short and gives the appearance of being “bobbed.” The young have mottled or spotted fur with more distinct facial marking than the adults.
They are widely distributed throughout Florida in deep forest, swamps and hammock land. Thick patches of saw palmetto and dense shrub thickets are important as den and resting sites. In rural areas, bobcats can range five or six square miles and generally cover their territory in a slow, careful fashion. In urban to suburban areas, the range of territory usually decreases to one or two miles.