Camelback Road in Scottsdale, Arizona is picturesque. You have desert mountains rising up from the floor, cacti and features of the Salt River Reservation as you head east. One thing that is both great and dangerous when it comes to that stretch of road…and the Phoenix Metro in particular…is the presence of wild animals. Unfortunately for the wildlife, car strikes are a fairly common occurrence. For the most part, the wildlife loses the battle every time, but a juvenile bobcat used up one of his nine lives when it was struck by a Mazda 3 driven by A.J. Michaels as he and a friend were on their way to a dinner.

After not finding the animal behind their car at the point of impact, they continued on their way to the restaurant, where the learned that there was a very much alive (and annoyed) bobcat in the car. The wide mouth of the Mazda’s lower grille was just enough for the cat to fit into without any injury, and the cat, realizing that there was relative safety in the Mazda’s nosecone, refused to move. After getting Arizona Fish and Game to tranquilize the bobcat, it was removed and taken to the Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center where the cat was checked out and treated. The cat will be released back into the wild.

(Source: NBC News)