Park officials say they have been getting hundreds of calls to 311 about wildlife sightings, particularly in regards to bobcats, a charismatic creature that has adapted perfectly to the urban environment of Calgary.

Daryle Latoski, who lives in northwest Calgary, says he was sitting down enjoying some TV when he spotted something outside in front of his home.

“I wasn’t sure what it was. I got up a little closer. I knew it wasn’t a domestic cat and I thought ‘well, I am going to grab the camera and get my phone out and tape it’. When I got closer to the driveway, I noticed it wasn’t a domestic cat for sure.”

It turned out that the animal was a bobcat, a part of the native wildlife of Calgary that has made itself right at home in a number of areas.

Chris Manderson, urban conservation lead with Calgary Parks, says that the animals are very well adapted to life in the city.

“They’ve got a lot of things that make them happy in the city. They have things to feed on. Typically what attract them are things like hares and rabbits. Squirrels and small mammals are really important sources of prey for them and that’s why they’re here.”

He says that there isn’t anything to be afraid of with the animals as they leave people pretty much alone, but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss them entirely.

“They are more interested in what they can feed on than us. I think where you should be a little bit concerned perhaps is something in your yard that may be a little more inviting to them and that can be things like a spot to den. This time of year is when they start to den. Breeding season is also upon us if you are a bobcat.”

Danny Benson, another Calgary resident, had his own close encounter with a bobcat.

“I was going through the alley and I stopped by the garage and up ahead there was this little rabbit. I didn’t want to scare the rabbit and run over it so I was cautiously approaching and the rabbit was bounding ahead and it turns a corner and right out of the corner of my eye, I see this big cat jump onto the fence and start stalking this rabbit.”

Benson says he kept an eye on the situation for quite a while and while the cat missed out on its quarry, it was a sight to behold just the same.

“This bobcat could have cared less about me or anybody else and actually felt like the front yards of everyone’s houses were its actual stalking grounds. It gave us no attention.”

Manderson says that the city is working on a number of projects that are giving them a better picture of how wildlife moves and lives in Calgary.

“We are tracking 311 calls. You can call 311 with wildlife observations and they do track that information and we use that to build a picture of how wildlife views our city.”

He says that those calls have helped identify two big areas where bobcats thrive; one in the southwest near Deer Run, the Weaselhead and Fish Creek Park and another in the northwest community of Varsity.

“What we see with that is that there is something about that habitat or that area that’s of interest to them.”

Manderson says the city is also working on a project called Calgary Captured. That’s an initiative that uses cameras to take photos of wildlife to get an idea of what sorts of wildlife make their homes in the city and how they move around.

“We don’t really have any conclusions on how they’re using an area or numbers or anything like that other than they are fairly common in the west part of Calgary for sure.”

If you happen to spot a bobcat yourself, it’s wise not to approach the animal and instead enjoy the view and then let it move along on its own.

(With files from Bill Macfarlane)