Rescued Bobcat Loves His Vegetable Toy

• After being rescued when he was still a baby, T’challa was raised in a wildlife rescue center for rehabilitation and eventual release back to the wild.
• But he had injuries and his learned behavior was not fit for the wild.
• The bobcat turned out to be a funny cat with an unusual love for fennel.

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Wildcats are not vegetarians as they have a diet composed mostly of meat. But this one bobcat has a fixation for fennels — not for eating, but for playing.

T’challa was found by rescuers as a baby. Judging from the nature of his injuries, they concluded that he might have been scooped up by a hawk and dropped. They rushed him to a vet and turned him over to the caring hands of For Fox Sake Wildlife Rescue.

Executive Director Juniper Russo said that she specializes in caring for predators and so the rescuers brought the baby bobcat to her to be rehabilitated. “The goal, of course, was to release him to the wild,” she added.

But after assessing the bobcat’s injuries, T’challa was deemed unfit to be released back. He may have retained his wild ways of marking his territory and being defensive of his area, toys, and food, but his skills are not for the wild. He acted like a goofy and playful cat, but it was still inappropriate to have him as a house pet.

Russo describes him as incredibly silly and funny. She said, “Most bobcats have a very high prey drive and start lunging and darting toward movement and shaking their food before their eyes even open. He didn’t develop those instincts the way a normal bobcat would. Still, he is not a house cat.”

One time, as Russo was on her way to feed the other residents of the center with fresh produce, T’challa suddenly really wanted it. 

Russo said, “I handed him a fennel bulb, expecting that he would realize that he didn’t want it after all, and was surprised when he grabbed it and snuggled it and brought it to bed with him.” 

T’challa did not eat it but decided that it was his new favorite toy. He played with it and cuddled it!

Since then, whenever Russo has fennels, she gives T’challa some and he would excitedly play with it. It’s definitely weird for a wildcat but it works.

Russo adds that the goofy bobcat cuddles and rubs the fennel against his body and sleeps beside it in bed.

“When he has multiple fennel bulbs at one time, he sometimes puts the extras into his toy cache to save for later,” she shares.

When some people saw the bobcat’s love for fennel, they began to send him some — and he sure is excited over it!

T’challa may have a different life from wild bobcats but the rescue center has provided him with lots of room for play, run, and fun. And don’t forget the loads of fennels. 

Source: The Dodo