PLANO, Texas -- It's only fitting that on the day Steve Garvin actually searches for the bobcats that have called his backyard home, he cannot find them.
For roughly a month, his home, but mainly his backyard, has been host to bobcat family of five. It is a family that comes and goes as they please.
"They're pretty docile, so to speak. But they're still wild animals," Steve Garvin said.
The Garvins have plenty of pictures and videos of the furry family as it moves around in their backyard. The family tells WFAA News 8 that they are mostly out in the morning and the early evening.
The mother and four kittens have taken refuge near a shed. It's clear mother has stamped down plants to make a den.
"It's like Jurassic Park here. You don’t know what's gonna happen each day," Garvin said.
One day Steve captured the kittens climbing the backyard tree on camera. And on another, Steve's wife captured the mom walking the fence while carrying a kitten with her mouth.
Their 12-year-old son Cooper actually has names for all the baby bobcats: Timmy, Jackson, Nicole, and Sasha. The family told News 8 the bobcat family has a fan following on social media, too.
"We've had people begging, 'Hey call us when they're out, we wanna come over and see,'" Garvin said.
Plano's Animal Control does not recommend anyone try to harbor bobcats. The Garvins never intended to.
As the kittens get larger, the family is concerned about the safety of their dog. They do plan on calling Animal Control, but are also concerned for the safety of the bobcat family.
Animal Control tells News 8 in the city's history it has never had a report of a bobcat attacking a human. But they also say bobcat calls have now outnumbered calls about coyotes.
The bobcat family never ended showing up while our news crew was there. But we're sure they'll likely show up -- just not when we're looking for them.
