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WATCH: Bobcat Prowls The Shoreline In Lake Of The Ozarks Neighborhood

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At Lake of the Ozarks, wildlife roams in abundance. From diverse aquatic critters to birds and mammals large and small, the Lake area hosts creatures galore, and while you'll see a deer on nearly every corner, some of the region's wildlife is more reclusive and rare.

Mountain lions have been occasionally spotted at the Lake over the years, and Missourians have had to learn how to become "bear aware" as black bears make a return to southern and central parts of the state. But it was neither a mountain lion nor a black bear that a resident on the Lake's Big Niangua Arm spotted on their security camera in December...

Visible on the camera, the night of Dec. 5, 2022, a bobcat casually strolled along the shoreline of Hyd-A-Way Cove, at the 12 Mile Marker. Waterfront resident Kevin LaMontagne shared the video with Lake Expo, explaining it had been taken by his neighbor's dock security camera. The property is near Ha Ha Tonka State Park, and not far from where a mountain lion was spotted by a resident in 2014.

LaMontagne says they haven't seen the bobcat since. But it's a good reminder that plenty of wild animals — some of which might view someone's pet as a snack — call Lake of the Ozarks their home, too.

From the Missouri Department of Conservation's page on Bobcats:

Several hundred years ago, bobcats lived throughout areas with sufficient habitat. In the Midwest, bobcats prefer heavy forests with thick underbrush, broken by rock outcroppings, bluffs, glades, clearings and timbered swamps. They require an extensive range for hunting with features such as thickets, caves and crevices for rest shelters and dens. Individuals post their home ranges with scent places marked by urine and scat.

Bobcats are larger than house cats, and have proportionately longer legs and a much shorter-bobbed tail. They are good swimmers and excellent climbers. Active all year round, they may be up and about by day or night, but they hunt primarily at dawn and dusk. They prey mainly on rabbits, but their diet can include small rodents, squirrels, turkey, quail and deer, especially fawns.

When it hunts, a bobcat relies on its keen eyesight and hearing, rather than smell. It stalks, then pounces on unwary prey.

More Tales Of Lake Of The Ozarks Creatures...



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