Cat-tivating: Bobcat spotted along C&O Canal in Georgetown

bobcat
A bobcat walks along the C&O Canal in D.C. (Courtesy DC Cat Count)

A bobcat was captured on camera along the canal in the Georgetown area of D.C.

Daniel Herrera, a DC Cat Count field technician, shared photos of the large feline on Friday. But the cat was actually photographed last November, The Washington Post reported.

DC Cat Count is a three-year project that documents the lives of feral cats in D.C. It has cameras placed throughout the city.

Herrera tweeted that the bobcat in D.C. is a “rare find.”

The last reported bobcat on the loose in D.C. was almost three years ago, when a bobcat escaped from its enclosure at the National Zoo and was found days later on zoo property.

Also in 2017, a bobcat that was struck by a car survived a 50-mile drive from Gloucester County, Virginia, to Richmond, stuck in the grill.

According to the National Zoo, bobcats have fur that range from buff to brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge, marked with spots or stripes of brown or black or both. They have facial ruffs, ear tufts, white spots near the tips of their ears and a bobbed tail.

The majority of the bobcat’s diet consists of rabbits, hares and small rodents, such as squirrels and mice.

Most of the world’s bobcats are in the United States. They are solitary and territorial animals.

bobcat
DC Cat Count camera captures bobcat in the Georgetown area. (DC Cat Count)
Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up