Bobcat takes swipe at Wisconsin turkey hunter who catches it all on video

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. — A Wisconsin hunter inadvertently called in a bobcat during the opening weekend of this year’s spring turkey hunt.

Carson Bender, 19, of Wisconsin Rapids, was sitting against a tree in full camo on April 18, which was Period A of this year’s season. Bender’s video, which was uploaded to social media and shared widely in the ensuing days, was reported on by a variety of news outlets in multiple countries. It shows Bender staying still and calm while being stalked by the bobcat, which approaches and swats at his left arm before running away.

The UK’s Daily Mail even reported on the story, its headline proclaiming that a Wisconsin teen had been “mauled” by a bobcat in a “terrifying moment.”

A less hyperbolic, more factual account of the incident in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel said Bender was watching an assortment of hens, jakes, and toms and was just about to take a shot at a tom when he noticed the bobcat approaching and was able to capture video footage of it sneaking in on him by using his phone in his left hand.

Bender, who works as a mechanic and takes classes at Mid-State Technical College in Wisconsin Rapids, where he won the youth trapshooting division at a fundraiser in 2024 held by the Wisconsin Trapshooting Association in Nekoosa, held his phone at arm’s length while the bobcat stalked him.

The predator can be seen slowly, methodically stepping around dry leaves on the ground, its yellow-green eyes locked into Bender. For long periods, the only movement is a blade of tawny grass blowing in the breeze. The hunter even managed to pan from the cat to his face, then back to the animal again, just before it struck. 

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Bender told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the turkeys he was watching didn’t leave the area, even after the bobcat took its swipe and beat a hasty retreat. Bender was even able to take a shot at one of the toms, but he missed.

Bender politely declined an interview with Wisconsin Outdoor News, saying he had been overwhelmed by calls, responses and comments on social media, and media contacts in a few short days after he posted the video of his unusual experience.