Meet Beeze the Bobcat! (Video)

Monroe residents occasionally catch a glimpse of a bobcat. On Tuesday, a man reported seeing the animal walking on Enterprise Drive at 3 a.m., then on Wednesday a Dingley Dell Road resident saw one in her yard in the evening. Even more rare are the times someone is able to snap a photo of a bobcat.  

On a chilly Thursday afternoon, a small audience gathered at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport to see Beeze (pronounced "BeeZee") the bobcat up close.

According to Beardsley's curator of education, Jim Knox, a hunter had found the wildcat as a kitten orphaned in the wild and it was cared for by a big cat rescue group before the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection turned Beeze over to the zoo on May 21.

Beeze, who is unable to return to the wild, has undergone intense training with Chris Clark and Chrissy Shore.

The trainers lead Beeze through demonstrations on a leash, but because bobcats are territorial, he stays at the zoo. Those in the audience must be quiet and still so as not to startle the bobcat. The zoo also uses Beeze's help to educate area animal control officers — including Ed Risko of Monroe.

Beeze, who weighs 25 pounds, is considered an animal ambassador of the zoo.