itchy and scratchy....
Bobcat digiscoped through Leica Televid spotting scope 02/17/07I had the great opportunity to digiscope a wild Bobcat recently. I know what you're thinking, I must have been in some incredibly wild, far-flung location, but the reality is I was home. This cat sat just to the left of my bird bath mid-day! Sure, I would have preferred less harsh, early AM lighting but what the hey....
Upon seeing him I raced to my office to grab my scope, tripod, and camera and dashed back to the side door. I got the whole set-up assembled inside the house. Eyeing the beast cautiously as I extended each leg of the tripod and then mounted the camera to the adapter and the adapter to the scope.
I cracked the door ever so slowly and carefully, but didn't notice my black lab eagerly waiting to go out behind me. When the door was open enough the lab bounded out and went about his business, naturally assuming I was opening the door for him. The cat remained and looked over to the silly dog who NEVER noticed the still cat! Given this turn of events, I assumed it was likely OK for me to go out as well. I first got the dog back in the house and finally began shooting (potential crisis averted).
At first the bobcat stared me down but within moments it proceeded scratching itself like mad! Given the lack of fur on either side of the neck and scabs on the forehead I think it's safe to assume this critter had more than a mild case of fleas bugging it! I don't know if it had gotten into some poison ivy or similar, or if there is a cat equivalent to mange. Either way it definitely was not the prettiest Bobcat I'd ever seen, and it was clearly sidetracked by its itchiness as it stayed scratching for ~3 more minutes before finally slinking back into the bushes. Any Vets/wildlife biologists out there familiar with such things that could provide some insight?!?...
very itchy and not so attractive Bobcat!
posted by Jeff Bouton at
9:02 AM
5 Comments:
Holy smokes, Boutman! That's some yard critter you have there. I'm reminded of the only photo of a wild coyote I've grabbed on our place--wouldn't you know it was patchy with mange, sitting there staring at the bird feeders. You have to wonder whether a fully furred bobcat that felt on top of his game would allow a Lab to bound out the door and not budge. They're tough animals, but that seems to be pushing it. Anyway, congratulations! And your life LeConte's and KIT FOX are ossum!
Thanks Zick! I'm certain you're right, this girl (?!?..) was not up to snuff for sure! She was definitely not as sexy as that little Kit Fox tho... The habitat there was near identical to where you and Bill and the kids were hiking around in Socorro last November.
Probably a blog about that somewhere, huh?!?...
JB:
That bobcat looks a l'il mangy perhaps. I've only ever seen one bobcat (in North Dakota). Getting one on our yard list would be super cool.
This is not a bobcat. It looke like a Jungle Cat, which is not indigenous to the new world. The jungle cat is about the size of a bobcat (15-30 lb) but has different physique, head shape, and fur. This is almost definitely a jungle cat. Although they do not exist in the wild in the US, some people keep them as exotic pets. My guess is that this is someone's pet gone astray.
I totally understand why you say that, however, I still think this is a Bobcat. Doing a google search on Jungle cat images all seem to show full length tails. This seems a fairly typical look of Florida Bobcats which are REALLY tame and common in residential areas throughout. They look very different than Bobcats elsewhere being much grayer overall with less distinct spotting, etc. This animal shows a much less "furry" cheek look so typical of most bobcats due in part to its "mange". However, I believe in general Florida bobcats are much shorter haired and this is less noticeable (perhaps not surprising since a cold night here reaches 40 degrees!
This individual and the others I've seen in FL all show a short tail (~3" long)which is always held up, and they always show distinct black fur on the back of the ear with a bright white "eye spot" in the center of this. From the junglecat images I've seen both of these characters would be wrong.
Please let me know if you agree. I actually see these animals regularly here this is just one of the few times I've had time to get images. (Most recently one stood in the middle of the road just below my driveway last week)and it is clearly more than just one individual. Two years ago a fearless mom with kittens hunkered down under the palmettos just 10' from our fence while my dogs barked at her!
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