Meet Mr. Murderbritches, the feisty bobcat who just won’t give up

A screenshot from a video on Twitter of Mr. Murderbritches' release into the wild in Kanarraville, Utah, November 2018, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Utah bobcat has made quite the noise on social media after a video of his release went viral.

The feisty bobcat, now known as Mr. Murderbritches, was released back into the wild near Kanarraville for the second time in November after he was caught in a chicken coop. After conservation officers from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources released him from the chicken coop, Mr. Murderbritches stuck around looking for his next easy meal.

The officers decided to set up a live trap, conservation officer Josh Carver told St. George News, in hopes of capturing him and reuniting him with his mom, since he looked young and was on his own.

But again, Mr. Murderbritches made his way back.

“When I released him,” Carver said, “he followed this old dried creek bed. He followed it quite a ways.”

The bobcat made his way to another house in Kanarraville and got stuck in a dog kennel. At that point, Carver decided Mr. Murderbritches’ mom was long gone, and he would do just fine on his own because he could hunt and travel.

Conservation officers try not to intervene with wildlife too much, he said, because “nature should take its course.”

Read more: Large bobcat captured, relocated from Ivins neighborhood

“Unfortunately, in the state of Utah, we don’t save every animal out there. It’s not possible. We don’t have the finances for that … but we are happy to help them if we can.”

After giving Mr. Murderbritches some deer meat and pheasant, Carver released him an even farther distance away than the first time, hoping the little guy would have enough food to make it through the winter.

Because the bobcat had all the makings to survive in the wild, conservation officers chose not to euthanize him. Carver said officers will not euthanize unless they absolutely have to, like if the animal is rabid or a threat to people.

“We don’t look for reasons to put them down,” he said. “We look for reasons to not put them down.”

The personality of this bobcat made its rounds on Twitter and Facebook after a video was released of Mr. Murderbritches “cussing” at officers during his release. Carver said he actually made the video for his kids.

In the video, the bobcat is translated saying phrases to officers like, “I get you boi” and “prepare to die.” The Center for Biological Diversity tweeted the video with the caption, “Watch these wildlife officials struggle to stay alive as they release the world’s most badass bobcat kitten back into the wild.” But don’t worry, Carver and another officer made it out just fine.

The internet is unlikely to forget Mr. Murderbritches anytime soon, but hopefully the little guy learned his lesson because if he’s captured again, Carver said he will consider finding a rehab center for him.

“This cat, he was rambunctious,” Carver said, describing the moment he released Mr. Murderbritches into the wild. “He had no fear.”

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews | @markeekaenews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.