HOLLYWOOD HILLS—Bobcats and other wildlife sightings are becoming ever more frequent in residential areas in the Hollywood Hills. Experts believe animals may be finding a new equilibrium with human habitats.
Patti Negri, president of the Neighborhood Watch in the Dell, was near her camera for a recent bobcat encounter in her backyard. According to Patti, this is not the first time she has seen a bobcat in her yard, intimating that her dog had been harassed by bobcats and coyotes.
As Patti remarked to Canyon News, “The bobcat was a couple of feet away, and I thought, wow that’s weird.” Patti continued: “Three neighbors called me and said they were seeing them everywhere…My dog was attacked by a coyote.”
Canyon News spoke to a source at Wild Things, a self-described training facility. Wild Things deals with animals of a typically violent nature on a regular basis. The man, who did not wish to be named, provided some insights into why more frequent bobcat sightings, among sightings of other organisms, are becoming more common.
“Bobcats have no natural predator, and as encroachment starts to occur, the number of cats doesn’t go down, so sightings go up,” he said. “From an extremist viewpoint, humans are to blame, but I tend to find a happy medium. Since it has become distasteful to hunt them [bobcats] the numbers have gone up.”
The experience of Patti Negri may therefore have broader implications for the ecosystem of Southern California.
