Bobcat Attacks Beloved School Pets

This article was updated Jan. 15 after the print edition. 

By Donna Furey and Andrea Adelson | LB Indy

A bobcat killed 12 chickens, a swan and three doves inside an aviary on the Laguna Canyon campus of Anneliese Schools on Sunday, Jan. 10, police said.

Many of the animals were rescues and longtime pets of the school, which were cared for by a volunteer aviary specialist, said Erin Sparkuhl the school’s attorney, describing the swan that was killed as having “more personality than a dog.”

“Over the past several decades we have rescued and rehabilitated hundreds of birds, including chickens of many different breeds, roosters, peacocks, parakeets, and swans,” said a statement issued by Sparkuhl.

The majority of animals in the aviary, including numerous peacocks, parakeets, roosters, and chickens survived the attack, Sparkuhl said.

The school characterized the incident as a “tremendous and unprecedented loss” and the first bobcat attack in the nearly 30 years that the animal rescue and care program has existed.

The aviary enclosure was compromised by storms in the previous week and school officials are working to fortify the structure, the statement says.

Anneliese’s campus in Laguna Canyon borders on the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. “We have many safety measures in place to account for the fact that we are positioned in the canyon, which is home to many types of wildlife,” the statement said.

A ranger and animal services officer caught the bobcat, which had became trapped inside the aviary and released the creature in a desolate canyon within the wilderness park, Police Sgt. Tim Kleiser said.

“It is pretty rare to see a bobcat,” said Laura Cohen, a resource specialist who works at the Wilderness Park, estimating one is spotted on a remote camera by Barbara’s Lake maybe five times per month. “In the other cameras, we may see one a month,” she added.

The cameras use infrared film so it is not possible to see the cats’ markings clearly, which prohibits park staff from accurately counting the bobcat population. “I’d say there a very few,” Cohen stated. Up until last month, the lake had dried out, Cohen added, noting that the main prey of the bobcat are lake birds.

Cohen speculates that just as the drought has forced coyotes to search farther afield for prey, the bobcat may be in the same predicament.

The five-acre Willowbrook campus is unusual for many reasons, including its abundant indigenous and exotic plant life. Besides birds, it is home to a wide variety of animals including llamas, ponies and potbelly pigs. They are incorporated into the science and art curriculum, according to the school’s website. The animals are the subjects in life drawing lessons and are visited by the youngest students for “mini biology lessons.”

“All of our animals have names and become part of the children’s daily life at school,” the website says.

“Our Anneliese Schools community is deeply saddened by the loss of these extraordinary creatures. We as a community are grieving this loss. Although they have departed, they will forever be alive in our hearts and minds,” said the statement.