A beautiful Bobcat was spotted by Jan de Vries hunting in the meadow outside his Sea Ranch home. The Bobcat stayed long enough for Jan to take a series of photos. One photo was published in the Independent Coast Observer this week and can be seen at http://www.mendonoma.com/. Jan has kindly allowed me to share several more photos here.
Such a healthy, beautiful Bobcat, it was probably hunting for Gophers in Jan's meadow.
A beautiful Bobcat, Lynx rufus, paid a visit to Emily Nelson's place on the Gualala Ridge and Emily captured several great photographs. I've read that Bobcats prefer to eat Rabbits and Hares but they will eat anything from insects all the way up to Deer. Here on the Mendonoma Coast we mostly see them hunting Gophers.
Once in a while someone will mistake a Bobcat for a Mountain Lion, which is pretty ridiculous. Bobcats are about twice the size of a domestic cat and have a bobbed tail. Mountain Lions are three to five feet long and have a long tail. They weigh well in excess of a hundred pounds. Emily's Bobcat visitor doesn't weigh more than 30 pounds. I thank her for allowing me to share her photo here.
Drew Fagan has an art studio at his place in Gualala. It affords him some might fine wildlife viewing. Recently he watched an encounter between a Bobcat and a Gray Fox. The Bobcat apparently got too close to the Fox's kits. The Fox chased the Bobcat off but before that happened, Drew caught the beautiful Bobcat hunting something in the grass - possibly a small rodent - and snapped this photo. A big thank you to Drew for allowing me to share it here.
If you'd like to see Drew's art, here's his web site: http://www.drewfagan.com/
Last year Emily Nelson, with the help of many friends, built a labyrinth on her Gualala ridgetop property. She invited friends to bring a rock from their property to be a part of the labyrinth, which Rick and I did. If you build it, they will come - right? Emily recently found this beautiful Bobcat walking her labyrinth and kindly allowed me to share this photo with you.
