Animal 411

Bobcats Seen on New Norwalk and Beech Roads

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A new photo of two bobcats casually standing on the deck of a New Norwalk Road home has town officials concerned about the animals’ welfare. 

Taken at a residence near Route 123’s intersection with Carter Street, the photo of what appears to be an adult bobcat and kitten indicates that “they are way too comfortable getting that close to a dwelling,” according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. “I have real concerns and I want to put it out there that feeding the wildlife is wrong and dangerous and sort of a death sentence for these creatures,” Halm told NewCanaanite.com. “We cannot have them hanging out on a deck.”

She added, “I have real concerns that people are feeding these cats and that is a big mistake.”

The homeowner who took the photo is not feeding the bobcats, Halm said. That homeowner said the animals weren’t scared away even by an air horn and “just sauntered off” when usually hazing techniques were used, she said. Separately, home surveillance video on nearby Beech Road captured a bobcat walking past the residence before dawn Monday, according to footage shared by the homeowner. 

Bobcats began to appear with more frequency in New Canaan around 2014, and since then Halm has said she’s seen what appear to be families of bobcats establishing dens here.

Allyson Halm

PHOTO: Bobcats Seen on Marvin Ridge Road

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Three bobcats were spotted this week on Marvin Ridge Road—the sixteenth sighting of the species this year, according the to New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. The trio likely is composed of a mother bobcat and her two kittens, Officer Allyson Halm said. “There is a lot of good habitat,” Halm said, referring to the Hoyt Swamp, which runs between Marvin Ridge Road and Route 123 just north of the Merritt Parkway. “They tend to hide away, though sightings seem to be more common now.”
She added, “It seems like they are just getting more comfortable around us.”

Asked what residents should know about bobcats, Halm said, “They certainly don’t have predatory instincts like coyotes do for other canines or felines. They are strictly rodent eaters, bird eaters.

Allyson Halm

PHOTOS: Two Bobcats Seen on Marvin Ridge Road

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A pair of bobcats were photographed on a Marvin Ridge Road property, officials said Friday. 

A rare sighting, the pair likely are a female with a male in pursuit, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. She noted that the breeding season is just getting underway: Bobcats breed between February and March, and one to four kittens generally are born in a litter in April. Halm said she has reported the sighting to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The sighting of the reclusive species is the first reported in New Canaan in one year. Animal Control received reports of sightings on Marvin Ridge Road and Ponus Ridge last February.

Animal 411

Five Bobcat Sightings Reported in New Canaan in the Last Month

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Police on Tuesday received a report and photo confirming a bobcat sighting on Marvin Ridge Road, the fifth sighting in less than one month of a species known for its reclusiveness. Bobcats are “showing themselves on a regular basis,” according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control Section. Residents should continue to report the sightings and “check your security cameras routinely for any other large predators that we would like to know about and accept be aware of their presence, just like coyote, bear and the possibility of a mountain lion passing through,” Halm said. The five recent bobcat sightings were as follows:

March 6: Hickory Drive
March 16: Toby’s Lane
March 29: Frogtown Road
March 27: Summersweet Lane
April 3: Marvin Ridge Road

Though the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has collared 50 bobcats as part of an effort launched earlier this year to track the animals, none were caught in traps in New Canaan, Halm said. “They’re too smart,” she said.

Animal 411

Police: Two Bobcat Sightings in Waveny This Month

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The head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control unit is urging Waveny visitors to bring a hazing tool with them after two reported bobcat sightings in the popular park this month. A bobcat crossed in front of a jogger’s path at Waveny on Nov. 20, following an initial sighting reported on Nov. 8, according to Officer Allyson Halm. It’s a good idea at Waveny to have a hazing tool of some kind, mostly because of coyotes, she said.