‘Cat burglar apprehended’: Police use drone to track bobcat found inside a Washington state home
A homeowner in Washington state called 911 after hearing banging inside their home and thinking someone had broken in. Police arrived to find the intruder was a “cat burglar.” But it wasn’t a human.
In a social media post, the Kirkland Police Department said Officer Brian Farman arrived to find a bobcat “perched at the top of the stairs” in a home in the Moss Bay neighborhood of Kirkland, Washington, which is around 13 miles northwest of Seattle.
Officers deployed a drone inside the house to monitor the wild animal’s movements inside the home.
“This allowed officers to maintain a safe distance and guide the response without placing anyone at unnecessary risk,” the police department said of using the drone.
The department says investigators think the bobcat climbed a tree and then jumped through an open window. They think it was possibly drawn inside the home by the homeowner’s cat.
Responders managed to safely corral the bobcat into an isolated room. When Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife arrived, the bobcat was sedated and later released near Forbes Creek in Kirkland, close to the natural habitat where it was found. The police department released footage of the animal being released on its Facebook page.
The homeowner’s cat was later found unharmed, and no injuries were reported, police said.
The police department and wildlife experts have offered tips for anyone who encounters a bobcat: “Give it plenty of space and never approach or feed it.”
“Washington Fish and Wildlife also recommends keeping pets indoors, especially between dusk and dawn, and securing small livestock and poultry. If a bobcat enters your home, move people and pets away from the area and call 911,” the police department said.
See the drone footage in the player above (Note: the video has no sound)
