Wisconsin teen mauled by bobcat during turkey hunt in terrifying viral video

ny post ^ | 04/21/226 | Richard Pollina

[BenLurkin]

Carson Bender was set up at the base of a tree while hunting on private land near Nekoosa — about 100 miles north of Madison — when he turned around to find the fierce predator stalking him.

The 19-year-old hunter quickly whipped out his phone to record the encounter as the bobcat slowly inched closer to him, video posted on his Instagram page shows.

“I pan over with the phone, and the bobcat is just staring at me,” he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I was like, uh-oh.”

The cat locked in on Bender for a few tense moments — then, in the blink of an eye, lunged at him, grabbing the teen by the arm before the video cut to black.

Bender said he was able to quickly shake the cat off him before it ran off.

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TOPICS: Outdoors; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS:

[Red Badger]

Thanks, He always does!.................

[Nervous Tick]

>> Why not whip out his gun instead?

Ouch! NO! Whip out his RIFLE, maybe...

[Georgia Girl 2]

👍

[Paal Gulli]

“Since 1990, bobcats have been responsible for only 26 human deaths across the US — 21 adults and five children — with an additional 275 maulings recorded as of 2025, according to Big Cat Rescue.”

If you follow the link in that ^^^^^^^ statement, there is no matching statement at the alleged source (https://bigcatrescue.org/conservation-news/big-cat-attacks). All the reports regarding bobcats at the linked site are about their escapes from captivity; ZERO accounts of bobcat attacks, much less attacks resulting in death.

That statement was made up from whole cloth by the NY Compost.

[Uncle Miltie]

He used his phone not his shotgun?

[1FreeAmerican]

Now I know where my cat ran off to!
I’ll come and pick him up tomorrow.

[Tommy Revolts]

Wisconsin teen mauled by bobcat...

Say what?

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

lol

[Getready]

A shotgun vs. a bobcat is not an impressive feat.
Now if it had been a hungry bear vs. the kid and the kid fought the bear off with grit and know how and his hands...now that would be impressive!
Agree that the kid is not very well prepared for smart hunting, and needs supervision till he gets it right.
IMHO.

[packrat35]

Exactly. Back when I hunted, I carried a gun and knew how to use it.

[Midwesterner53]

The “mauling” according to articles was a couple of scratches he got treated at the local hospital.

[Getready]

I remember the story about the cat “in the snare”...
It was a TV broadcast and the guy was an animal control offer, holding and presenting the cat for adoption through an official animal agency. While he was being interviewed by the tv person...the cat got spooked and tried to escape...the officer couldn’t let the cat and leash go.(Bad optics)..so he kept the cat on the leash and the cat wrapped himself around the officers leg, climbed toward the officers groin and bit deeply in that area.
Never found out what happened after that...but ya’ gotta’ respect the cats necessity to survive in fight or flight situations. Officer should have given up early and let the cat go. Cats will be cats. A definite PR catastrophe.

[Mouton]

Even Davey Crocket needed a knife when he was three.

[TheThirdRuffian]

We have a bobcat in our barn whenever it gets cold.

It leaves us alone and we leave her alone.

She is not dumb enough to mess with a horse.

Pretty sure she kills rodents. We don’t feed her regardless.

And is why our house cat (a stray) keeps close to the house if she ever leaves.

[TheThirdRuffian]

Maybe a toddler.

A bobcat is not very big.

[Hebrews 11:6]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BiteYourSelf]

One’s for fighting
The other is for fun.😏

[PAR35]

I have a semi-feral / semi-domesticated large tom cat. On several occasions he’s come in for a meal (have to feed indoor because of the other critters around) and will be in a really bad mood and will attack me without warning. I’ll have to grab a towel or a blanket and put him outside until he calms down.

[equaviator]

[MotorCityBuck]

HA!!😃