As we made our way to church Sunday, something dashed across the road about 60 feet ahead of us. At about the same time, we both shouted "Bobcat"!!! 8) 8) 8) It was indeed a bobcat, and it was flat out getting it across the road. I think it made it across in about three bounds. I imagine a bobcat is old hat for some of you, but it is the first time I have seen one outside of a zoo.
It is interesting to think of the changes in wildlife in my lifetime in this area. In the early 60s, whitetail deer were occasionally seen, but it was not a common thing. Today they are so common as to almost be a pest. Beaver were unknown here back then, and are common today. I saw my first coyotes in 1975. I just heard some howling a few minutes ago, as I do most nights. During the 60's and early 70's it was difficult to raise soybeans in a lot of fields, because groundhogs ate so much. The coyotes quickly brought them under control, and today you only see a few groundhogs per summer. Wild turkeys were unknown here until 15 or 20 years ago, and are common today.
Great sighting ;D
We saw a black bear dash across a state road and leap over the guard rail. We really wish we had been able to see what happened next cause there was a SHARP drop off to the river there :o
I've never seen a bobcat but our wildlife has changed in a similar way.
Bobcats have a much wider range than fols are aware of. Our wildlife biologist told me of one tagged here in southern Indiana that was killed on the highway outside of St. Louis. Now that is travellin'. If there is a bobcat in the area and you are wanting to see it during the daylight hours you need to be looking up. They sleep in the tree tops during the day and typically hunt and mvoe around after dark. The one you saw was running from something. Maybe deer hunters.
There is an area close to our house where bobcats raise. I hear them scream once in a while, but might go three or four years without seeing one. It is easier to trap one than to get sight of a live one seems to me.
Well, not all are sleeping - in Arizona where this picture comes from this bad boy was looking for a pet snack... They have adapted really well to finding dogs and cats wandering outside of homes. :o
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10952/bobcat.jpg)
A friend as a new place and took this picture during the middle of the day.
That don't appear to be 'Mr. Bob' ;)
You are probably right Bro. Noble, how would I know? ::) I can recognize a tolomuco, an oso de cabello, a paca and various other flor y fauna down this way.
So what do you think it is? ???
That Bobcat is a little bit bigger than the ones I've seen around here. I don't see many around here. The wife and I was taking a walk around the field and a bobcat was stretching his neck out as far as it could to see us around the edge of the field. Soon as he could really see us, he took off into the woods.
Noble,
You go to the corner... Jeff - change his hat to a dunce cap!
http://www.azgfd.com/h_f/game_bobcat.shtml
I guess desert ones look different.
Fred,
I guess I'd better go to my corner and stay where I can be an 'hombre felis' and not run into that old 'hambre felix' ;D ::)
I think that there cat is the real thing------Mr. Mtn. Lion :o :o
I tell you what - I won't want to run into that bobcat in an enclosed space! It looks like it could do some serious damage! Fifi is not going to have a good day I am thinking...
Over the weekend 2 of my brothers and I went to our cabin in Eastern WV. The drive from the paved road to the cabin is a mile and a quarter of old logging trails, about half way there we saw a black bear going up the side of the mountain, when it got to a logging trail it took off, loping down the trail. Quite a thing to see.
The next day a Coyote ran past me. It kept looking back over it's sholder while running along. That made me pay attention. It didn't even know I was there. I never did see what it was running from.
A while later a buck wandered by and my ol 54 cal Hawkin was talkin! Another deer in the freezer.
Jon
I was real excited to see that cat. As we talked about it on our way to church, I said, " Well, we've just seen our first bobcat. When, or if, do you suppose I'll ever see a mountain lion around here?" My wife smiled sweetly and said, "Probably by the end of the day, when you get done stretching this story!" ;) :D :D
Fred, that Arizona cat is way bigger than the one I saw. It does look like a bobcat to me, though. Wonder what my heelers would think if something like that wondered into the yard?
Since the article says that they are between 30 to 50 lbs - that one looks on the big side of that. Perhaps they get really big when they had tied up Fifi to munch on? ???
Costa Rican Cats (http://www.nicoyapeninsula.com/wildlife/wildcats.html)
Yes, they are very powerful at 30-50 lbs. I was attacked and "chewed on" by one back in 1957 in the western UP near the Michigan/Wisconsin border. I was at its mercy until it let go of my right hand with its teeth clamped right through my hand.
Had to go into the doctor in Rhinelander, Wisconsin for some stitching, antibiotics and tetanus shots.
Ron,
what set him off to attack? I have heard that they are the crankiest of the North American Cats and the Lynx is the most laid back.
I have seen 4 Jaguarundi so far, and the foot prints of the Pumas. I saw a skinned Ocelot (which I wish I hadn't) in a barn once.
The only one that is pretty common is the Jaguarundi - I once saw a pair of them on the farm.
Quote from: crtreedude on December 20, 2005, 12:07:04 PM
I can recognize an oso de cabello
:o :o :o :o A horse's WHAT? :D :D :D
Horse Bear - come on - isn't that obvious?
Or do you want what English people call it?
Giant Anteater
By the way, they are considered much more dangerous than an overgrown puddy cat like a puma. The regular anteaters (oso hormiguero) kill lots of dogs who are too stupid to stay away. They rip them apart with their front claws.
A giant anteater can easily kill a horse. :o We are supposed to have one that wanders into our property at times - they are nearly extinct. No one has seen one - but they can hear it during the mating season.
Lo siento----schuse me------I thought you might be talking about my buddy Paul_H :D :D :D
Thanks for watching my back Noble,yer a real pal :D
Quote from: crtreedude on December 20, 2005, 02:59:48 PM
oso de caballo - larger than average and weird looking. Pretty shaggy hair at times (and at times forget to shave for a week)
Oh, and I am out to destroy ants...
Quote from: crtreedude on December 22, 2005, 12:30:01 PM
A giant anteater can easily kill a horse. :o We are supposed to have one that wanders into our property at times - they are nearly extinct. No one has seen one - but they can hear it during the mating season.
Hmmmm,veddy interesting :-\
I got between a big female and her 3 cubs. I didn't see her until she lunged out of the brush at me. Clawed my chest and latched on to my right hand. The bite tore the finger nail out of right index finger. A lot of hurt.
I reached for my hand gun with the left hand and clubed her on the head with the butt, but the harder I hit the harder she chewed. I was at her mercy until she let go, then I got a "wild" shot at her as she ran off.
""""""""No one has seen one - but they can hear it during the mating season."""""""""""So what is the mating call? Something like that of the sorority girls in an un-named Southern University, "I'M SO DRUNK"????
I haven't the foggiest what they sound like - but I gather it is weird. I don't think they speak English - but perhaps Spanish...
"A genuine anteater,"
The pet man told me dad.
Turned out, it was an aunt eater,
And now my uncle's mad!
--Shel Silverstein
The last bobcat I saw was standin in the middle of the road, about 20 ft from a woman walkin her dog. Bobcat looked scared, dog was at the end of its leash barking, but apparently he wanted a longer look or a meal, because he didn't run off the road until I was almost to him.
Ron, you need to tell us more of your adventures stories. Heck, I've know ya for a long time and this is the first time I got an explanation out of ya for this picture:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/ron_bite.jpg)
Remember, that was the day you and Chester were comparing war wounds and you said we would never believe how ya got that one.
Yes, I guess I could fill a book. A few stories have been written in the Book series "Mystic Michigan" by author Mark Jager. I'm mentioned in Books part 1 & 5.
and.... :D
Along with other items of mystery in Michigan.
Book 1 has story: "The Cadillac to Traverse City Indian Trail"
Book 5 has stories: "Strange Lake Craters in Michigan"
"Michigan's Acid Lake"
Bob Cat Kitten One of 3 and very wild in Michigan's western UP; summer 1957.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/bob_cat_kitten.JPG)
He dont look happy. OK STORY TIME!
Early morning bobcat.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/PICT0019.JPG)
Thanks for bringing this one back up Ron, I had missed it the first time around.
On the prowl!
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/MFDC2781.JPG)
No story like Ron's, but, we have an abundance of bobs here in Texas, and a few cougar, in my area. I have seen more cougar than bobs, I used to be pretty quiet in the woods, but the bobs just didn't appear, and most of the big cats were seen on the roads.
I had to comment, just to pay tribute to Bro Noble, it has been a while since I have read any of his posts.
They are really neat animals IMO. I have seen one mother and kits on the road a couple miles up the road, my wife saw a young one chase a flock of turkeys here in the pasture right next to/above the house (was a young cat and the turkeys got away - old experienced cat would likely have ambushed them), and I had one come out past me one morning while I was turkey hunting at the back corner of my property (I let him go - I have nothing they bother).
I was at a local fur buyer a couple years ago and a seller came in with a young cat in a live trap that was pretty poor looking fur IMO. I was sorely tempted to buy it just to release but did not interfere with sale between the fur shop and the trapper. I know there are a lot more of them around than any of us ever see.
Once as a teenager fishing with friends one got in an old Willis station wagon in a rain storm. We were getting soaked and he stayed dry (and likely smelling fish we had caught at first stop). When the owner opened the door it spit at him. He laughed and opened the other door and it jumped out and ran down the road spitting and hissing. I've heard tales of people having them get in rag top jeeps and such while owner is deer hunting or such and getting scared then completely shredding the upholstery.
Yes, they can get pretty mean.
Late night Bob Cat And Porky
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/PICT0351~0.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1463003207)
Big Cat at Mid Day.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/PICT0143~0.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1534539427)
What's he after Ron?
When I was young in the early 60s Cat tracks were common in the Adirondacks.
They are a rarity now.
I have only seen 2 in my life one in 1967 and then again in 1999.
Both fleeting glimpses
Not sure just what he might be after. Its an inactive "mineral lick" site where mice, squirrels, porkies, raccoons, deer with fawns etc. hang out, so it may be checking out the scent of something.
Cat is back again, but this one looks a little smaller.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/PICT0073~1.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1536023946)
They are pretty numerous her in VA. I caught one creeping by my deer stand last year and he is still getting mounted. I call them in and shoot them most of the time. Only reason I bother is I have a rare covey of quail on my land and I raise quail in attempt to increase their numbers. Other than that, I wouldn't bother with them as they are very magnificent animals. A few years ago my neighbor killed one and a deer with one shot. Said the brush right behind his stand erupted and a doe came out bucking around with a bobcat attached to her.
We have quite a few of them around our property. My wife has some fantastic pictures of them. One of her photos was published in Mass Wildlife which is a periodical published by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Last fall during archery season, I watched a mother bobcat teaching her cub how to hunt for an hour or so. She had a vole or something and would toss it around trying to entice her cub to attack it. Kind of cool to watch but probably not so much fun for the vole!
This one grabbed a woodchuck in our back yard:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/100_1766-2~0.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1536329670)
his one was "playing" with a vole in our driveway:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/IMGP1076-1.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1536329798)
Action shot:
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/26694/IMGP1141-1.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1536329798)
Nice pix, thanks.
I have spent a fair amount of my free time outdoors and have never seen one. It's on my bucket list. Thanks for the pics.
Night time Bobcat.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/PICT0089.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1630292801)
Daytime Bobcat
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/PICT0128.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1630292831)
Ron, you sure get lots o' critters around that same tree
After a fresh snow I see bobcat tracks everywhere around here, ive even seen a kill spot and how far it had pounced to get this hare(it was around 3-4 meters). I haven't actually seen one though, I always know they are close though, one of these days I will probably cross one, hopefully it won't bite my hand...
They can do a number on the hand; the chest also. ;)
Trotting down the county road.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/25189/DSCF0007_28329.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1631291216)
Quote from: doctorb on September 08, 2018, 03:13:28 PM
I have spent a fair amount of my free time outdoors and have never seen one. It's on my bucket list. Thanks for the pics.
doctob, i spent my life out doors and have seen more cougars (Local know it all says we don't have any) than bobcats, they are stealthy and not day light ramblers in general.
Apparently we have eastern cougar here in ns, sightings in the last 20 years. Although not common at all. Pretty sure they're common in New Brunswick though so not a stretch they are here. I would not want to cross one, by the time you notice one of those things it's too late and already pounced on your chest
I have seen a bobcat in our yard and one at the camp as well as one or two crossing the road while driving (to be clear I was driving and the bobcat was crossing the road)
All I have is a blurry picture at the camp.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18975/20170408_124902.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1631321239)
According to our squirrel sheriff agency we have no cougars here. However, there have been too many game cam pics and eyeball sightings by sober people to believe that story.
Quote from: Old saw fixer on September 11, 2021, 10:14:52 AM
According to our squirrel sheriff agency we have no cougars here. However, there have been too many game cam pics and eyeball sightings by sober people to believe that story.
I think DNR around here knows they are around but don't want to encourage any poaching or people soughting them out, since they hardly have a foothold here anyway, they were believed to be main predators of the maritimes though pre colonization, except NFLD.
For the longest time our GFC said that we don't have any, now they've said that we ONLY have males that pass through. Well I for 1 am NOT going to just be decimated by a passerby if it decides to attack. They say that we don't have females, do they trap them & if so why did it take so long to change the story?! Things that make you go hhmmm! Yeah, I believe THAT!!! If I elaborate my thoughts anymore then I'll be suspended at the LEAST.
Doubt very much that they will attack you..
See them often on the trail cameras and have no fear of them at all.
Quote from: beenthere on September 11, 2021, 01:33:19 PM
Doubt very much that they will attack you..
See them often on the trail cameras and have no fear of them at all.
Unless you're near her young ones
Only wild cats I've seen up here is lynx. Been in a lot of woods, remote woods, never seen any cougar sign anywhere here. I have seen fresh cougar tracks in British Columbia, and been growled at from the bushes by same cat I assume. I made for the motor yacht we were lodging on while working remotely. Nothing to kid about. :D
Here's a lynx, Ralph, just sun'n. ;D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/lynx-2018-1.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1544454815)
sleeping kitty. :D :D
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/lynx-2018-2.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1544454896)
tracks of another, a 16 foot leap.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/SD_bobcat-8ft-leap.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1192063369)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11009/SD_bobcat-001.jpg?easyrotate_cache=1192063367)