Warning: Some may find some of the images in the video disturbing.
Mike Popkowski has been golfing in Baltic for about 30 years. Never did he expect to get attacked by a rabid bobcat mid-round last Thursday.
The New London resident teed off at 7 a.m. with three of his friends, as per usual. But what happened at the 7th hole was anything but usual.
“I heard him say, ‘watch out!’ and as I looked up, this thing had left the ground. It was coming for me,” Popkowski said.
His friend headed a warning, but that’s when a bobcat leaped for Popkowski.
“I was able to turn my back and it landed on my back. And you know, scratching, biting, and we tumbled down quite a steep embankment,” he said.
The golfer is told by his friends that the wild animal was on him for two or three minutes.
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One friend took his golf club and tried to knock the bobcat away. Popkowski said he was angry and put up a fight, too.
“I was trying to do what I could to it. Not that I’m Davy Crockett or anything, but you’re trying to save yourself.”
Officials believe that same bobcat attacked a horse in Baltic a little earlier that morning. The bobcat was later euthanized and tested positive for rabies.
"I've never seen a bobcat up there. Nor would you expect to go out to play a round of golf at 70 years old (that) you're going to get attacked by a wild animal,” Popkowski said.
He was taken to Backus Hospital for treatment. Popkowski has bite marks and scratches on his left shoulder, his right ear was stitched, and his right side is in pain from rolling down a steep embankment battling the animal.
Popkowski is also bruised and scratched up. The bobcat got to his scalp, too. He has 11 stables to his head.
“It’s a crunch, crunch, crunch,” he said, describing the sound of the procedure.
The golfer is getting rabies shots and said a good golf jacket was torn apart during the attack.
But Popkowski and his friends have a tee time from Friday. If it’s rained out, they’ll get lunch but he hopes to be playing again by Monday.
“Might not play the 7th hole but we’ll play,” Popkowski laughed. “I’m not going to quit golf because of this. This is a freaky thing.”
And who knows, Popkowski joked that skipping the 7th hole could actually help his score.
