Howard Henderson of Sleepy Eye holds mystery animal he trapped. It looks like an overgrown house cat, but it’s much too big for that. Features are similar to a bobcat, but the long tail sheds doubt on that theory. A crossbreed?

Howard Henderson of Sleepy Eye, a veteran trapper, stumped even the professional people in seeking identification Friday of a mystery “cat” he trapped.

Henderson checked with Department of Natural Resources headquarters in New Ulm. He also checked with a veterinarian and other trappers. All seemed to agree it was from the cat family and most said it was likely a bobcat.

Those who said “probably bobcat”‘ said so because of the rather long tail on the animal. The book says the bobcat has a short tail.

Some thought the animal looked like an overgrown house cat, but this one was about twice as big as the big house cat known around here. It weighed 15 to 20 pounds, Henderson estimated.

The encyclopedia notes the bobcat is one strain of lynx. The larger lynx is known as the northern lynx while the smaller strain is the bay lynx or bobcat in more popular terminology. The pelt of the bobcat is of lesser commercial value than the northern lynx.

When Henderson checked his traps, he said the cat was alive and quite ferocious, as bobcats are known. It took two rifle shots to still the cat.

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HENDERSON has been busy trapping since the season opened two months ago. His take includes over 100 muskrat plus wild mink and some coons.

By special permit from the state,Henderson also has done some beaver trapping along the Little Cottonwood River where flooding has resulted because of many dams built by beavers.

Henderson said the beaver take would be much higher except for snowmobilers driving over or near beaver dams and scaring the animals.

Foxes? Henderson thus far has avoided trapping foxes. He prefers to seek out mink and rats.

Occasionally, the hunting routine will be broken up by something different in the traps, like the bobcat — or whatever — he nabbed recently.

New Ulm Daily Journal

Dec. 31, 1974