Naramata man surprised by bobcat visitor

Jon Ferebee had to look closely to believe his own eyes when he glanced out the window of his Naramata home early Tuesday afternoon and spotted a bobcat. 

"There he was in the neighbours' yard, then over to my yard, and he went back and forth a bit, then he sort of curled up in the sun for a couple hours," Ferebee said with a chuckle. 

Many animals frequent his area, like coyotes, deer, raccoons and the like, but a big cat was a first. Ferebee's own house cat had been acting strangely the night before, possibly aware of the visitor. 

"He was kind of scurrying around the window a little bit, maybe he sensed it," Ferebee said. "But today he seemed indifferent, asleep on the couch like he normally is."

Ferebee whipped out his phone and recorded some footage, before retrieving his larger camera and venturing out into the yard for some photos. 

"[The bobcat] didn't seem to care, he looked at me," Ferebee said. "He curled up in the sun for a while, he was probably there for a good two, two and a half hours before he wandered off."

It was a unique experience for him, having never seen anything like it near his home in the Rosebud Avenue and Booth Road area.

"I know that other people in Naramata had seen bobcats before but I hadn't heard of any in my neighbourhood."