Bobcat, Caught On Camera Attacking NC Family, Positive For Rabies

NORTH CAROLINA — A North Carolina family readying to begin their morning commute experienced a violent encounter with a bobcat in the driveway of their Burgaw home. The incident was captured on a security camera, and by Friday afternoon had racked up more than 10 million views.

The bobcat, which was later killed, was also confirmed to have rabies, underscoring the need to keep pet vaccinations up to date, the Pender County Sheriff's Office said.

The April 9 incident occurred in the Creekside Subdivision in Burgaw, the PCSO confirmed.

In the video, an unidentified man can be heard offering a morning greeting to a neighbor jogging past his home. In his hands appear to be a cake and a beverage.

"I need to wash my car," he says, unlocking the vehicle. A bird can be heard in the background along the sleepy street scene as the morning sky takes on the color of a new day.

That's about the time all hell broke loose.

A woman approaching the passenger side of the vehicle with a pet carrier in hand then lurches forward into the frame as a loud feline yowl and her blood-curdling scream cut through the otherwise tranquil suburban scene.

"Run, baby! Run!" she seems to yell to her husband, as the bobcat grips tight to her back.

The man runs around the vehicle, grabbing the cat away from her, exclaiming, "Oh my god, it's a bobcat!" in disbelief before flinging it feet away from his body into the grass of the manicured front yard.

"A bobcat attacked my wife!" he yells. He pulls out something from his pocket and yells, "I'm going to shoot that f------!"

The dramatic footage of the incident may be viewed here.

The animal had attacked another person before the incident caught on video, PCSO Capt. James Rowell said, the Charlotte Observer reported.

"Any unvaccinated pets should be vaccinated immediately," PCSO warned neighborhood residents following the incident. "Your pets and other domestic animals can be infected when they are bitten by rabid wild animals. When 'spillover' rabies occurs in domestic animals, the risk to human is increased."