Who needs caffeine when you can have a bobcat roar at you on your morning walk? K.C. Kercher, a Cornelius real estate agent who lives on Mary Ardrey Circle, says she and her dog came upon a young bobcat during their walk through the mountain bike trail opposite the entrance to Jetton Park.

“I was walking with my dog…and all of a sudden, out of the brush, he roared…stared and roared. He let me know that he was there,” says Kercher, who goes by her first and middle initials. A wildlife officer told K.C. she was lucky to see one because they are rarely spotted in North Carolina.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t plentiful. According to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, bobcats are “elusive, solitary and wily.” While one shouldn’t walk one’s gerbils in the woods, the commission says bobcats avoid people. They do feast on mice and rabbits.

Kercher says she walks the trail every day, and enjoyed seeing the bobcat. “It’s got a nice little roar to it. They won’t bother a human,” she says. The beautiful felines are crepuscular, which means they tend to be active at dawn and dusk.

Hollow trees, rock piles, brush piles and the root masses of fallen trees are common bobcat dens. According to NC Wildlife, bobcats are very adaptable to humans and will use a wide variety of habitats, enabling them to live close to people. However, due to their secretive behaviors, they often go undetected. The bobcat is the only wild cat found in North Carolina.

According to Cornelius Police, Animal Control Officer Kenny Russell planned to walk the trail today.