Florida man punches bobcat in face to save daughter’s dog: ‘clawed into me”

A Florida man reportedly fended off a bobcat attack on his daughter’s dog by swinging his fists, clocking the wild animal in the face.

Paul Broadhurst told Fox 32 Orlando that he was walking the dog, Koda, on Feb. 11 in the Stoneybrook neighborhood of East Orlando when the bobcat pounced.

“The bobcat, he clawed into me pretty good, and I end up having to punch the bobcat in the mouth to get it off of me,” Broadhurst said. 

“He was walking down the sidewalk that bobcat was just over the top of him. He no sooner got there, and I ripped him off.”

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Broadhurst was left with scratches after he tried to pry the animal away from the dog, eventually sending the bobcat scurrying into the treeline.

“He got away lucky,” Broadhurst said about the family pet who was uninjured during the attack. 

“This is a very high-traffic area,”Broadhurst explained. “People walk their dogs, and have their kids, there are small kids in the area 1-, 2-, 3-year-olds and if the bobcat got on them, it would be a bad outcome.”

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Broadhurst’s home is next to a conservation area and Environmental Education Awareness Research Support’s Frank Robb suggested that people walking their pets should carry an object like a walking stick that they can put between their pets and any animal that is rabid or looking for food.

“When homes get built these wild areas are being taken away, you’re going to see more conflict like this with wildlife,” Robb said. “Be aware of your surroundings and know where you live.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife took a report on the incident and is investigating.