bobcats move into foreclosed CA house

[Emily]

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stor ... f7b63.html

from the Press-Enterprise (Riverside and San Bernardino counties, CA)

03:17 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 3, 2008

By SARAH BURGE
The Press-Enterprise

One home in the Tuscany Hills area of Lake Elsinore has all the marks of a foreclosure: a dead brown lawn, neglected flowerbeds and notices on the front door.

And one more thing: bobcats.

A pair of the wildcats and their young appear to have taken up residence in the backyard, animal control officials say.

Karen Brown, a nearby resident, said a neighbor came to her door last Wednesday evening and told her there were "mountain lion cubs" across the street from her Vista Palermo home.
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Karen Brown/Special to The Press-Enterprise
Bobcats on a Lake Elsinore home’s wall prompt a call to police that also brings an animal control officer to the property.

Stepping outside, Brown caught sight of two cats, which turned out to be full-grown bobcats, resting on the back wall of the property.

"They were just lounging there," Brown said. "They were literally just lying on the wall looking at us."

She called the police, but the cats continued to enjoy their perch, staying on the wall for 30 minutes -- plenty of time for police and an animal control officer to get a good look at them.

Willa Bagwell, director of Animal Friends of the Valleys, the nonprofit organization that provides animal control services for Lake Elsinore, said officers ventured into the backyard to investigate.

The sun had gone down, Bagwell said, but "with a flashlight, they think they saw quite a few little eyes."

It would not be unusual to see a bobcat in the hills east of Interstate 15, where Tuscany Hills is located, Bagwell said. But this is the first she has heard of a wild animal taking over a foreclosure.
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Sarah Burge/The Press-Enterprise
Officers from animal control posted warning notices around the Tuscany Hills neighborhood Tuesday after two adult bobcats were seen lounging on a wall at a foreclosed home last week.

The enclosed yard abutting a shrub-covered hillside and easy access to water from a sprinkler system makes the property an inviting bobcat habitat, Bagwell said.

On Thursday, animal control officers returned to Tuscany Hills to distribute warning fliers urging residents to keep a close eye on pets and small children.

Brown said she and her family just moved to the neighborhood from Long Beach this year. This was their first bobcat sighting.

"I'm just glad they're not mountain lions," Brown said. "We were all kind of impressed. You don't see that in Long Beach."

Reach Sarah Burge at 951-375-3736 or sburge@PE.com