Bobcat Family Roams Lantana

Lantana residents are dealing with some unexpected visitors in their back yards.

Neighbors say a bobcat family is roaming around Peco Street.

"I saw this big cat that looked kind of exotic, wild," Cindy Perez said. "I kind of panicked. I called my neighbor, and I called my husband."

Perez spotted three bobcats in her backyard Wednesday afternoon.

"It was like the whole family," she said. "The first one I saw was one of the little ones. But then, I saw the big bobcat and two little ones, following each other."

She grabbed her camera and took pictures and video of the mother bobcat and her babies.

Donnita Palmier, who lives just a few doors down, said the bobcats brought excitement to her quiet neighborhood.

"We have only seen one or two snakes, but nothing like that," Palmier said. "The bobcats were walking the fence between the houses, and they [animal control] said she was hunting for food, which apparently she found a lot of -- chicken bodies, rabbits and a lot of feathers."

The neighbors called animal control officers, who told them not to panic.

"There are a lot of people that are panicking for the children and things," Palmier said.

Small animals are at risk, prompting residents such as Perez to keep a watchful eye on pets.

"My cats are going to be indoor now," Perez said.

The residents said they are on the lookout, saying they would not mind seeing the bobcats again.

"We don't want anything to happen to them," Palmier said. "We don't want any harm to come to them."