A wild bird cries as I prowl through the jungle. Crocodile hunting is for sissies: I’m in search of bigger game. Steve Irwin, eat your heart out.

A bush rustles, but, alas, it is not my prey. The locals tell me that they inhabit a strange land called Campus Center, but so far, the cats have proved elusive. The BC cat may be a wily species, but I’m hot on its trail.

The cats of Bakersfield College are a mystery. No one seems to know when they first appeared, or why they chose Bakersfield College to house their tribes. From unknown origins, the cats of BC have evolved into their own unique legend, passed on through BC students. I knew about them long before I attended BC; a friend’s older sister told the tale.

The most noticeable cats inhabit both Campus Center and Veterans Memorial Plaza, which has been referred to as the “giant litterbox” by some, though there are other colonies around both the administration and science buildings.

On a tip, I am told that there are those who know the cats well. To aid in my search, I call in an expert. Accounting Supervisor Edwina Rauser, of Business Services, has been caring for the cats for around four years. Although she is on good terms with the felines, Rauser doesn’t encourage students to try to get close to them.

“I never try to pet them; they are wild animals,” she cautioned.

A feral cat is a wild cat, unused to human contact. Aside from stinking up the place at times, the BC cats are generally harmless if kept out of the food preparation areas, said Matt Constatine, said Kern County Animal Control Manager Matt Constantine.

“The only real health hazard is the potential for rabies exposure,” he said.

Senior Library Technician Carol Paschal began to feed the cats about a year ago, but also traps, spays or neuters and releases those she catches to help decrease population growth. A pair of cats can produce two or three litters per year. According to www.feralcat.com, two cats could potentially produce 420,000 cats over a seven-year period.

“I realize that their population needs to be controlled so it won’t be a problem,” she explained.

Sometimes the wild-eyed felines look as if they can take down a small antelope when working as a unit. A lack of food left the cats emaciated, on the verge of extinction, so some began feeding the cats in the Veterans Memorial Plaza area.

“Some people would prefer that we didn’t feed them, but fed cats are healthy cats,” Paschal said.