Quote:
Originally Posted by GoHawks!
I am a night owl and enjoy walking in the evenings between 10 and 11 pm. I find it to be cool, quiet, and peaceful. I have been noticing on several sites that people have been seeing bobcats or panthers at night around The Villages. I would like some opinions about how safe it is to walk after dark. Thank you.
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No worries, it is safe. These animals won't attack you unless you corner them and put them in a position where they need to defend themselves. Humans are not on their menu, but small dogs and cats are, so watch out if you are walking on of these. We have a family of bobcats that live in the preserve behind our house and we see them often walking on the top rung of the fence to get an elevated vantage point so they can pounce on small critters for a snack. We love watching them and never worry about them as our dog is bigger than the bobcats. One of them is a three legged bobcat, probably got one of its legs chomped off by a gator in the preserve. The only critter I worry about in the Villages (except for obnoxious humans) are the aggressive and poisonous cotton mouth/water moccasin snakes that live in the swampy preserve. Our lawn guy has had to get away from a couple while mowing on the fence line during the warm and wet season.