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'I tawt I taw a puddie tat'
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Pic permission of danbeck619.com.
Tweety bird did in fact see a “puddie tat”. That puddie tat is Lynx rufus…a Bobcat. They are not uncommon in our back country, although they are very elusive and seldom seen.
My son and I were driving down the road towards a habitat restoration site I was working on when I spotted this cat down along the creek. I slammed on the brakes. He was just sitting there sunning himself. There was a line of trees and a barbed wire fence between us and him. I fumbled for my camera and slapped on the 300 mm lens. My son Daniel leaned out the window and got off a couple of shots. I later scanned them and blew them up to arrive at this picture.
The Bobcat is at or near the top of the food chain. He is about twice the size of a house cat and probably not someone you would want to tangle with, although I’m pretty sure they don’t attack humans…unlike his cousin…the Mountain Lion. Bobcats are somewhat solitary and usually diurnal, meaning they hunt and feed early and late in the day. They are somewhat omnivorous in they eat just about anything they can get their claws on, but their favorite foods are rabbits; and from my travels in the back country there are plenty of them.
The Bobcat also needs habitat, and lots of it. They roam a wide range and again are quite secretive and quiet. You can consider yourself very fortunate to ever see one. My wife and I did spot two up in some rocks early in the morning. I believe they were a pair. I don’t believe they are endangered, but like so many other fascinating GLC’s (God’s Little Creatures); our continuing encroachment of their habitat is slowly reducing their numbers. A family of them was recently spotted occupying a foreclosed house in Riverside County.
But again, they can live and thrive in a host of different habitats, and can be found from Mexico to Canada, where he has a cousin that is all white and with cute little bobbed ears and eats white snow bunnies.
I was up on Mt. Laguna some years ago in the winter in the snow. My kids were playing in the snow and I was close to the observatory up there. I looked over and saw what I thought was a cute calico housecat sitting on a rock. A little big though. First I thought it was a pet of the astronomers there, but since the place was all snowed in, I later came to the conclusion it was in fact Lynx rufus.
I tawt I taw a puddie tat!
Taking a few weeks off this summer. Will resume with some more good habitat issues when return. Thanks for reading.
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