Bobcat Sighted in Middle of Denver. Are your pets safe?

Bobcats in Colorado are thriving.Photo byBy rabbitti

Winter often brings bobcats closer to urban areas, and lets us get a glimpse at these beautiful creatures.

Sophia Prado-Irwin, PhD. shared her Bobcat sighting on Twitter yesterday.

Bobcat sightings are becoming more common, specifically in Lone Tree, Centennial, Littleton and Highlands Ranch.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife say they're doing well in the state and their populations are being carefully monitored.

But sharing the land with wildlife needs some care.

If you find a bobcat in your backyard what should you do?

For a start, keep your distance and do not try to feed it. Just like with any wildlife.

If it’s acting aggressively, you can scare it away by making loud noises or throwing objects at it according to the CPW, while being careful not to harm it.

But aggression is usually for a good reason.

“Most the time, it’s defensive in nature, if they have young nearby or they feel cornered or threatened or scared.”--Travis Saunder from CPW told kktv.

The threat is minimal if you leave them alone, he says.

Are my pets at risk?

According to CPW, the bobcats main diet is rabbits.

"Like other native cats they hunt by stealth rather than engaging in long chases. When rabbits are scarce, bobcats will eat mice, voles and birds."

But hungry wildlife are not kept out by high fences, so small pets are at risk.

“If you’re going to put your pet out, especially in the early morning hours or the late evening hours,” Sauder said, “take a quick look around -- a flashlight’s great -- turn on the back porch light, or you can make some noise to let other animals know that you’re going to be putting your pet out.” --Travis Sauder, CPW

Tell us your thoughts in the comments. Have you seen a bobcat?