Some ancient people may have kept bobcats as pets

A 2,000-year-old burial mound discovered in the area that's now Illinois contained the remains of a young bobcat. The ancient bobcat wore a unique collar and was found in a ritual burial mound normally reserved for humans.

The Hopewell culture, a prehistoric American people who lived in what is today a region spanning many states, from Ohio to Florida, constructed the burial complex that included the bobcat's grave. People from the Hopewell civilization had distinctive ceramics and artwork, including animal-shaped tobacco pipes and glossy, mica-like material that had been carved into animal shapes, despite the fact that each location had slightly different ways of living and may have spoken different languages. The Hopewell culture also included villages with distinct ritual burial mounds, like the enormous cemetery outside of Cahokia, near St. Louis.

Why the ancient bobcat, which was about the size of a large, fully grown house cat, was buried with the same care and attention as humans is still a mystery. However, the most straightforward explanation is that early humans had bonds with animals. Bobcats are quite adorable and simple to tame, especially when they are young.

It's possible that they didn't give it the sustenance it need, which is why it perished. Although the bobcat may have been a child's pet, adults must have begun, or at the very least approved, the burial because the mound was too large for a youngster to have dug on their own.