- Carson Bender was turkey hunting near Nekoosa, Wisconsin, when a bobcat attacked him
- The 25-pound bobcat lunged and grabbed Bender's left arm but caused only minor scratches
- Bender recorded the encounter on Instagram, where the video received nearly 33 million views
A Wisconsin teenager's spring turkey hunt turned into an internet sensation after a bobcat stalked him from behind and lunged, grabbing his arm on camera, the New York Post reported. Luckily, the 19-year-old walked away with just scratches.
Carson Bender was hunting on private land near Nekoosa, Wisconsin, when the close encounter happened. Bender had turkeys gobbling from multiple directions when he was set up at the base of a tree.
"I had gobbling from a couple directions," Bender told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "And before long, birds were in the field, working their way toward me."
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That's when things got weird. Instead of turning and risking spooking the turkeys, Bender raised his phone and flipped the camera to check behind him. What he saw a bobcat staring at him from just yards away. The animal was reportedly estimated at 25 pounds.
"I pan over with the phone, and the bobcat is just staring at me," Bender said. "I was like, uh-oh."
Watch the video here:
The video, posted to his Instagram, shows the bobcat locked in and creeping forward. "I knew where the bobcat was, and I didn't know what it would do, but I was actually just about to take a shot at the gobbler," Bender said.
Before he could fire, the bobcat made its move. It lunged and grabbed Bender's left arm. Bender was wearing a long-sleeve undershirt and a canvas-type jacket. He escaped with a scratch and two smaller breaks in the skin on his arm.
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Social Media Reaction
The video gained massive traction with nearly 33 million views and over 2.5 million likes. "Both thinking, 'You know I can see you, right?'" one user wrote in the comment section.
"Both saying 'you're not a turkey,'" another user wrote.
"Should've jumped scared him before he jump scared you," a third user suggested.
He told the media outlet that he's enjoying a range of comments on his video. "It might sound dumb, but I wanted to kill that turkey that was strutting in," Bender said. "It was a lot of action in just a minute or so, but I never really felt threatened and went with my instincts."
