Bobcat Kittens Weren’t Rescued, But Taken From Wild: Report

SAN ANTONIO, TX — There’s a little more to the story about a pair of bobcat kittens a San Antonio resident and two of her friends decided to feed — only to be bitten and scratched up as the wild animals aggressively went after the plastic feeding bottle and shredded it as they sought nourishment.

The woman said she had found the kittens, which she and her friends believed were rare Bengal kittens, in a back alley behind her home in San Antonio. But an investigation by the city’s Animal Care Services revealed they were found in Atascosa County south of the city and later taken to the private home, and now the woman faces charges.

The ACS’s field enforcement division worked with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to investigate whether the animals were illegally captured and relocated, according to a recent Facebook post.

“Those individuals still maintain they believed the cats were Bengal kittens, a rare domestic breed,” the ACS said.

ACS assistant director Shannon Sims told MySanAntonio.com the woman will be charged with a misdemeanor charge of giving a false statement and could be fined anywhere from $300 to $2,000, according to media reports.

Initially, there were three bobcats, but one of them died before it was taken to San Antonio, the report said.

The two that survived were taken to Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Kendalia, where they were quarantined pending their release back to the wild. Attempts will be made to find the bobcats’ mother in the area where they were taken. In the wild, bobcat kittens typically remain with their mothers for about 18 months.

“Something went wrong in their world and whether it was caused by humans or fate, the tragedy here is wild animal babies are taken from the wild,” Lynn Cuny, the founder and president of the wildlife rescue group, told MySanAntonio.com. “The fact of the matter is that San Antonio has grown up around … green spaces over the years into the huge city it is now. And every time a city grows then wildlife is displaced, killed and harmed, and green spaces are destroyed.”

Cuny said until they can be returned to the wild, the bobcat kittens are being housed outside to increase the chances of reunification.

“They need to be outside so they’re hearing the sounds of nature all of the time,” Cuny said. “That’s extremely important to their survival when they’re sent back to the wild. So our focus is to keep them wild, healthy and be able to set them free when they’re ready to go back.”

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Animal Care Services