(Michigan City, IN) - The search is still ongoing for a nine-month-old bobcat that escaped from the Washington Park Zoo Wednesday.

 

Zoo Director Jamie Huss said anyone who spots the bobcat named “Grace” should not attempt to capture her. Instead, she urged people to immediately report any sightings to the Michigan City Police Department’s non-emergency phone number at (219) 874-3221.

 

Huss noted that the bobcat kitten poses little or no threat to humans, with it being "roughly the size of a large housecat."

 

Huss said that live traps have been set to try and capture the bobcat, with trail cameras having also been placed in hopes of obtaining sightings of the animal to help narrow down her location.

 

Grace and her sister, Hazel, arrived at the zoo on Michigan City’s lakefront in December and have been housed in a habitat designed for their species since April. Zoo staff reportedly realized on Wednesday morning that Hazel was alone in the enclosure and immediately moved her to another building for safekeeping. Where Grace had escaped the zoo grounds has not been determined.

 

“Bobcats are quiet, secretive, and active from dusk to night. As with all wildlife, the natural response of a bobcat is to move away from humans,” she said.

 

Carrie Campbell, owner of Hatfield Wildlife Control in LaPorte, said she believes the bobcat is still close to the zoo today due to the hilly tree-covered terrain being an excellent habitat for such an animal, as well as adding that traps and sightings will be vital to recovering the animal. She explained how there are also a lot of homes nestled in the dunes around the zoo and those residents with home surveillance systems could especially play an important role if they regularly view their footage. 

 

“If everybody in that area can keep their cameras charged and ready to find that animal if it’s around structures and neighborhoods that is going to be a key thing to find that juvenile bobcat,” she said.