'What tore it up like that?': Community racing to rescue starved neighborhood bobcat in Brevard County

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. - UPDATE: The bobcat was captured, but sadly died on its way to the vet.

Neighbors and animal rescue volunteers are trying to save a bobcat on the brink of death.

They stumbled into Merilee Hanson’s Rockledge backyard on Tuesday. She noticed it looked it was starving, and its leg was severely fractured. The bobcat eluded rescuers for two days, but they haven’t given up.

The Wild Florida Rescue team says finding the injured animal in the Pine Cove neighborhood is like finding a needle in a haystack. Volunteers set out new traps with fresh food and will check them on Thursday.

Neighbors want to see the bobcat out of its misery.

"God knows every animal he has made, and this bobcat matters," said Merilee Hanson who was the first to spot the animal in her backyard. "Whether or not it is to be rehabilitated or to be euthanized, it matters."

Upon her discovery, she immediately posted photos of the animal on Facebook. Soon after, hundreds of messages started pouring in with advice and organizations people thought could help.

Hanson said she, "didn’t sleep last night" and that her "heart broke. Nothing deserves that, and it was just so emaciated. Nothing deserves to be that way."

Volunteers from Wild Florida Rescue were on the scene within hours on Tuesday night after receiving numerous calls about the animal. They’re trying to find the cat who they say disappeared somewhere in a nearby green belt.

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"We’re trying to figure out the next steps as far as what we need to do to see if the bobcat has left the location or if it’s still there and what we need to do proceeding going forward," said Adriane Crawford who’s the lead rescuer on the mission for Wild Florida Rescue.

The Brevard-based volunteer organization says last month they had over 700 rescue calls like this one come in about animals in danger. They respond to every one of them and do their best to rescue, rehab, and rehabilitate the creatures in distress.

"Your heart goes out him. It’s so hot out. Of course, you know – what happened to it? What tore it up like that?," said Chris Bennett who also lives near where the animal was spotted.

He says most people in Florida care deeply about wildlife, and they don’t want to see the bobcat suffer anymore.

"Hopefully this gets resolved one way or another, and the cat’s not in misery anymore because obviously right now it’s just in pain and suffering," Bennett added.

"To know the end, whether he’s captured and euthanized – whether he’s captured and rehabilitated and just pray for him. Whatever is the end needs to be had. It does need to have a resolution,"  Hanson concluded.

These neighbors say, they had not seen the bobcat until Tuesday and aren’t sure how it ended up so starved and injured. As for what’s next, the rescuers will be back on Thursday bringing shovels to try and dig up some of the tortoise holes because the cat could have fallen in and still be trapped.

There is a rabies concern, so experts say people should not approach the bobcat if they spot it. If anyone sees it, call Wild Florida Rescue at 321.821.7881 with the location. Volunteers will respond.