Today we have BOBCAT photos from ecologist Susan Harrison. Susan’s captions are indented and you can enlarge the bobcats by clicking on them.
One summer morning in the life of a Bobcat (Lynx rufus) near Williams, Oregon
Any rodents in there?
How about in here?
Oh – is that a human up ahead?)
It’s not moving…
Rodents??
The human is looking at me with a strange shiny eye.
It seems harmless, but you never know. . . .
Better remind it whose territory this is.
Mind your business, human, and I’ll do the same.
Slooowly does it…..
(Studied indifference)
‘Bye, human. Now where was I? Rodents!
Quite an encounter! How close did it get?
Lovely photos of a beautiful animal. It’s interesting just how much alike in behavior various cat species are!
Great photograph and mind reading! What a lovely cat.
Thanks
What an exciting day for you!
Thank you for a great series of the encounter.
What a gorgeous cat.
I’ve always heard that bobcats were incredibly elusive. Were you actually out in the open when you took these photos, or were you in some sort of a blind? Just curious.
Thanks for your nice comments. It was 7:15 am and I was walking along the road when I first saw kitty sitting up ahead. While I stood still it ambled by, passing maybe six or eight feet from me. In hindsight (pun intended), it seems to have been a female. This was in an area with lots of horse owners, so there was probably a good rodent supply. Why was she so bold – I don’t know!
Incredible pictures! What a rare encounter!
Where I live in the Pacific Northwest, lots of our neighbors have Ring doorbells and cameras, which dutifully record videos of whatever gets into their fields of view. Bobcat sightings are frequent, but almost always at night—a hidden world where bobcats and coyotes reign.
Here in Southern California, I once had a similarly close encounter with a bobcat. It trotted by me, within a few feet, and returned about 10 minutes later with a (deceased) American Coot (Fulica Americana) in its jaws. Great photos and interpretations!
San Joaquin Marsh?
Yes, San Joachin Marsh!
What a fun coincidence, John! Or maybe not coincidence — have bobcats figured out that we binocular-bearing humans are a pretty harmless bunch?
Great pictures, thank you for sharing these!
Thanks for the cool photo-story. Who doesn’t love bobcats…oh yeah, rodents! 🙂
I’m envious. I always see “my” bobcats on trail cam photos. They have a knack for showing themselves within 15 minutes after I have departed an area at the end of day.