This poor turkey hunter just wanted to take his mind off things and enjoy some nature. Sadly, he was mauled by a bobcat while trying to kill a bird.
Claude Strother is an 82-year-old turkey hunter, who is also battling cancer. He was in Alabama hunting on April 18 when the bobcat launched and attacked the back of his head. Strother explained on social media that he had gone hunting after his wife had gone to Birmingham for a day. But instead of a gobbler, he got a bobcat and probably a headache for his trouble.
"Just a fluke deal," he said on social media. "I always sit by a big tree. This time I didn't. I sat by two little trees about as big as your arms. About 18 inches apart."
He further explained on a Facebook reel. "Instead of sitting by a big tree like I always do, I sat between two little trees about as big as my arm. It left my back and head exposed."
He said that the bobcat hit him in the back. He described the force as a baseball bat hitting him against the head.
Turkey Hunter Battles Cancer
Strother said, "I set the perfect storm for it. There I was, perfectly camouflaged in a gap and all he could see was my head and all of a sudden I was knocked over and I turned and reached back. I assumed someone had hit me with a baseball bat. It was that hard. Dazed me but it was nothing there. I looked back around and the bobcat was trotting down the road. It could have been a lot worse."
He only knew it was a bobcat when he caught a passing glimpse of it running away. The attack left the turkey hunter bloodied, but he admittedly doesn't blame the animal for the attack. He admitted he was just too good at being a turkey hunter.
"He thought I was a turkey. My yelping is real good," he said. "He assumed I was a turkey with a wide head I guess. So he tried it. I don't blame him at all. I got no grudge against that bobcat, I wouldn't have shot him if he let me."
Meanwhile, the incident and response has helped the turkey hunter keep his mind off a cancer battle.
"I keep books. I got every hunt I been on since '75. Every one. Whether I kill a turkey or not. She said (the Facebook comment), 'looks like he got a good ending, a good last chapter in his book'...so she don't think I'm gonna make it. I got other problems. I may not, but hopefully I will," he said. "I'm going back to the same spot in the morning."
