Bobcat attack

Gone are the days of the occasional squirrel or raccoon found lurking in area neighborhoods. Recently, many towns have been visited by larger, more exotic animals that ignored the line separating nature and civilization.

Children hid, residents conferred in meetings, tranquilizers were loaded, bows and arrows were purchased, and people pulled out their cell phones to take pictures.

Take a look at some of Massachusetts residents’ latest encounters with wild animals.

Most recently: A Brookfield man was attacked in his garage by a bobcat. The man said all he heard was a hiss before he was pounced upon, then bitten in the face and clawed in the back. The man’s nephew was also attacked before the man and his wife pinned the bobcat down, shooting it.

State Environmental Police took the bobcat to have it tested for rabies, which they think is likely given its unusual behavior

Pictured: A camera set up on the property of Walter Bickford in Sudbury Valley captured this image of a bobcat in 2004.