Remarkable footage shows the moment two fisherman encountered a live bobcat struggling in the middle of a lake in Montana.
Bob Hereford was out fishing on Flathead Lake on October 6 with his son Brett when the pair discovered a bobcat thrashing around in the water.
Bob posted footage of his son holding the bobcat in a fishing net, along with images of the furry feline staring into the camera.
The fisherman got quite a surprise when they caught a live bobcat, (pictured), while out on a lake in Montana
Brett Hereford was photographed by his father as he caught the bobcat as they fished on a lake
Bob said Brett caught the bobcat ‘very carefully’ in a bid to save it from drowning. The pair then took it back to shore, where they released the animal into the wild.
In the footage Brett can be heard saying: ‘Good afternoon, what do we got in the basket, we got us a little bobcat.
Bob Hereford, (pictured), said his son Brett caught the bobcat ‘very carefully’ in a bid to save it from drowning
The fishermen were not sure how the bobcat got so far away from land, although the species – the most common wildcat found in North America – is known to swim
She told the Missoulian: ‘It was quite the experience for those guys. They were just anglers that were fishing for Mack Days during the event.
‘(The bobcat) was quite a ways out (from shore) and they went over and looked at it. They believed that if they didn’t net it, it was going to drown. It looked really tired.’
Benson said Hereford told her the bobcat was shivering for quite a while and they were worried about it.
‘It was acting like it wanted loose, so they did take it in to shore and turned it loose. Other anglers went over and watched the whole process. They saw it a while later on the other side of Finley Point walking along the shore.’
Benson said some people speculated the bobcat was trying to get to an island or perhaps had been dropped in the water by a predatory eagle.
‘That does happen. You just don’t know. ‘He’s [Bob] been around wild animals being in the woods all his life, so he wouldn’t have done this if he thought the bobcat didn’t need help,’ she added.