Large Unknown ‘Wildcat’ Spotted on New England Farm

Can somebody please explain to me the influx of wild animals around the SouthCoast becoming dangerously too close for comfort lately?

A month ago, Michael Rock reported on a mysterious animal that resembled a badger/beaver/mongoose/wolverine-type creature. Two weeks ago, a coyote bit a child in broad daylight in Fall River, only to return again for round two.

Now, there's a wild "cat" of sorts roaming around the farm fields of Westport.

I spoke with Kevin Cordeiro of K&J Farms in Westport, who recently spotted the large cat-looking beast along with his neighbor Chris Acevedo.

"There I was, sitting on my porch, when I see this big cat in my front field jumping around in the tall grass," Cordeiro said. "I didn't think anything of it and then that same night, my neighbor Chris was outside and saw the cat coming out from a burrowed hole from my property."

Now, I'm no cat scientist, but I had a Maine Coon for a family pet and not once did it burrow underground. Throughout the town of Westport, locals were uncertain of the species of cat, calling it a house cat, but Cordeiro was convinced it was most certainly a bobcat.

"Listen, it had a 12-inch tail which is normal for bobcats, they don't always have a short stub," Cordeiro said. "By the way, it was jumping around and the size of it, there's no way that it was a pet cat."

On the farm, Cordeiro has a menagerie of different animals that he raises such as miniature Hereford cows, miniature Scottish highlands, Boer goats, turkeys, chickens, Guineafowls (hens), etc.

"I'm worried about my birds and goats," Cordeiro said. "Our goats are babies too, only 10 weeks old. Bobcats have a special appetite for them."

The wildcat, which ironically is the mascot for the Westport High School, has yet to be seen since, but Cordeiro is confident in what he witnessed.

"It could be a hybrid," Cordeiro said. "A bobcat could have mated with a feral cat, hence the long tail, but this was definitely a bobcat."

We can't verify that what he saw was definitely a bobcat, but Cordeiro sure is convinced. So with that in mind, if you do come across a bobcat, here's what you should do to protect yourself:

Be sure to notify your local animal control or the police if you encounter a large, wild cat such as the bobcat that was seen in Westport.