I was heading to Naples this morning with a medical delivery. About 9:35, I noticed "something different" on top of a wooden utility pole. I normally see buzzards or ospreys. This was a cat. No tail, so that ruled out a panther. I called FHP dispatch to report a non emergency. The female dispatcher chuckled and asked me if it was a bird. No, it is a bobcat. Not a bird or panther. She sent FWC to investigate.

Several hours later, I passed the same mile marker on my way home and there was a camera crew there. I called FHP again and connected to the original dispatcher. I asked about the cat and she confirmed that it was indeed rescued.

It made my day!

https://www.naplesnews.com/sto...r-county/1151810001/

haha! nice job Mike

So it was a polecat?

quote:

Originally posted by Jimineer:
So it was a polecat?

For the win!

Nice post.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
Nice post.

That's what the bobcat was thinking.

Pics

Speaking of "for the win", the dispatcher said that I had the best call of the day!

quote:

Originally posted by rsbolo:

quote:

Originally posted by Jimineer:
So it was a polecat?

For the win!

At least it wasn't a turtle.

Jim

Good job.

Years ago I was driving Alligator Alley toward Naples and started smelling a fire. Little further and it starts getting smoky. Little further and it's so smoky had to slow down. Then I hear a helicopter and it appears out of the smoke with one of those big buckets hanging under it. It hovers and starts to lower it into the canal near the highway.

Never saw the fire but something was burning was definitely burning. Glad it wasn't next to the highway. Not too many places to turn around along that road.

Cool! At least it wasn't a woman with an alligator in her yoga pants.

I wonder if they knew the cat could get down all by himself...

Isn't it possible that they turned off the power and were attempting to prod the cat down? If the power was on and the cat started down, it might contact both wires resulting in a really hot kitty. I had a good friend that was 4 wheeling out to his hunting spot predawn and just as he drove past a pole there was this big pop and flash and it was a raccoon that got across both wires on his way up the pole. He said it really startled him at the time.

I would venture a guess that the power was tagged out, as the lineman is not wearing gloves.

Super nice of you to help that beautiful cat out. Thank you for taking the time.

Good on the OP.

It looks like the bobcat went to the Wile E Coyote school of bird hunting.

quote:

Originally posted by Shaql:
I wonder if they knew the cat could get down all by himself...

I don’t know… Cats are much better climbers than descenders. Firemen are frequently called to rescue kitties from trees.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:

quote:

Originally posted by Shaql:
I wonder if they knew the cat could get down all by himself...

I don’t know… Cats are much better climbers than descenders. Firemen are frequently called to rescue kitties from trees.

How come we don't see cat skeletons in trees all the time?



"I'll just hook Mr. Bobcat with a 20 foot pole and put him in this here lil blue bucket."

The story is now on the BBC.

and exactly why did it need to be rescued?

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
and exactly why did it need to be rescued?

I asked this to my neighbor that works for the power company up here. He said that they cut the power and shoo the animal off, because if it contacts the live wire it could cause more problems than just a dead cat.
He said that generally it's faster to do it that way than to deal with the possible effects if letting it "run its course".