South Florida family comes face-to-face with a bobcat in their backyard in Sunrise

By ROBBIN SIMMONS, KEVIN BOULANDIER

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    SUNRISE, Florida (WSVN) — A wild sight for a South Florida family when they spotted a predator outside their Sunrise home roaming their backyard.

As South Floridians, we are used to seeing iguanas, owls, and possums, but Shari Lamadore saw a bobcat.

Shari Lamadore, the homeowner of a home in the area of NW 42nd Street and 120th Lane, said this is not the first time she sees wild animals roaming around.

“A buck, an otter, coyotes, foxes, haven’t seen any foxes for a while,” said Lamadore.

Lamadore said she and her husband had seen the stubby tail and the fluffy ears of a bobcat on her home surveillance video a couple times. But on the night of Feb. 8, they saw the big kitty with their own eyes.

“I like to think of her as a ‘she’ cause she was so beautiful!” said Lamadore. We’ve seen a bobcat I want to say there’s two but I don’t know but it could be a young one growing up”

Lamadore said she and her husband were in awe when they came face-to-face with the bobcat.

“When you’re sitting on the couch and see this beautiful creature looking it at you it’s nothing but awe,” said Lamadore.

You should not be surprised if you catch a glimpse of a bobcat as they can be found in all of Florida’s 67 counties.

One of the reasons why the Lamadores had a close encounter with the bobcat could be the breeding calendar. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s website said that a bobcat’s breeding season peaks in the months of February and March.

Lamadore said that the bobcat’s shrinking habitat could be another reason why the animal was roaming her backyard.

“We’re taking over their habitat but we’re not rebuilding one back for them like we do in other countries that we destroy, we rebuild,” said Lamadore.

Still, the self-described animal lover is still overjoyed about her safe encounter with the backyard bobcat.

“No words. It’s just beautiful, surreal, awesome, amazing. Once in a lifetime feeling.”

Lamadore told 7News that she was so excited about what she was seeing, that she wanted to take a closer look but her husband convinced her against it.

While she was excited to see it for herself, she wants to let her neighbors to know about the bobcat sighting so that they keep an eye out as they head out with their pets and their children.

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