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Bobcats Spotted Roaming Around Westford Neighborhood

WESTFORD (CBS) - Westford residents have spotted elusive bobcats several times in the past week.

Bill Azer recorded two of the wild cats roaming through his property this past week, and one of them appeared to have a squirrel in its mouth. "We've seen some deer out here before," he said. "I know some neighbors have seen some bears, but I haven't seen bobcats."

A few miles away, Dawn Gillogly's security camera spotted a bobcat in her driveway as it appeared to be chasing something under her car.

Across town, Michelle Parradee was working at her real estate office when she spotted two of the notoriously shy cats outside of her window. "I thought they were really cool looking," she said. "They were a lot bigger than I would expect."

Naturalist Marjorie Rines at the Massachusetts Audubon Society say sighting like these are pretty rare. "These people are extraordinarily lucky," she said.

Bobcats Westford
Bobcats spotted in Westford (Image credit Michelle Parradee)

Rines says bobcats generally avoid people, and most sighting come from security or wildlife cameras. "I've been a very active naturalist for 30 years and I've never seen a bobcat," she said.

As far as safety concerns, Rines says the only thing people should be concerned about are small pets. "Their preferred food is probably rabbits but they're opportunists," Rines said. "They'll eat just about anything." She goes on to say, "Unfortunately a small dog or a cat looks like food to a bobcat, so you really have to keep your pets inside."

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