ROANOKE, Va. – BOBCAT CAMERA
Rescued bobcats are now live on WSLS from the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center. Check out our Bobcat cam on our Watch Live page here.
10 News viewers have shown a lot of interest in the kittens since we first shared their story. Now, you can check in on them in their outdoor enclosure at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center in Roanoke throughout the day. According to Virginia DWR, bobcats are most active just after dusk and before dawn. They are secretive, solitary and seldom observed, tending to hunt and travel in areas of thick cover. Bobcats rely on their keen eyesight and hearing for locating enemies and prey.
Two new bobcat kittens just arrived at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center in Roanoke, bringing their litter now up to three.
“We have two males and one female, and they’ve all come to us from a variety of different areas and situations,” McGrath said.
Weighing only 521 grams at arrival, a small male bobcat was the first of 2025.
“We have the one that we know the most of, which is the little boy that we’ve been raising, who was found with his mom by the side of the road,” she explained. His mother was deceased after being hit by a car in Floyd County.
“We have a little girl who’s the most wild. She was found in someone’s backyard, really skinny, and they thought she was a normal cat. So they scooped her up and then realized, that’s not a normal kitten.”
She arrived at the wildlife center on June 20th from Fries, VA in Grayson County. Upon admission she weighed 820 grams and was generally healthy, just hungry and a little dehydrated. The rescuer noted her dog kept sniffing a pile of rocks in their yard and found it wedged in between them. They looked for the mother but given the presence of the dog she probably moved on.
Despite the challenges of caring for the wild female, McGrath said, “She’s our wild gal,” and added that staff actually prefer to see this wild behavior.
The newest bobcat to join the litter was unfortunately kept for a week before his finders saw a news segment about the center and knew where to bring him.
He arrived on June 29th from Wytheville, VA. Upon admission he weighed 1.7 kg. Sadly, the mother was hit by a vehicle and died.
The trio will grow up together over the next year at the center in Roanoke as they prepare to return to the wild.
This marks a significant moment, as it has been two years since the center received a kitten. In 2023, the center received two bobcat kittens which were successfully rehabilitated and released as young adults in 2024. The pair was featured on the WSLS 10 Bobcat Cam, allowing the community to watch them grow.
If you would like to make a donation to the center, click here.