Now I was surprised!
Looking out our front window at dusk, I saw what I thought was a raccoon sitting in a willow tree that blew over this summer. It was dining on a deer carcass that I had wedged on the trunk that morning. We get a lot of raccoons and skunks on our property, so I wasn’t overly surprised to see one enjoyed a free treat. As I watched, the critter lifted its head. Now I was surprised! The raccoon was actually a full grown bobcat! With my nose and eyes now glued to the window, I saw another bobcat head poke up from the root-bole of the tree. Within seconds, another head appeared on the opposite side of the trunk. We had three bobcats in our yard! My wife and I watched them for about 30 minutes. As they came in to the open, we saw that we had a mother and her two cubs. The mother was about twice the size of our domestic cat, and the cubs were about ¾ the size of their mother.
The cubs
We saw the three the next morning and evening, returning to chew on the deer carcass. On the second morning a mature coyote showed up and stole the whole carcass, so we haven’t seen any of them since. When I finish deboning my deer, I’ll give them another treat.
Our property is located on a point between two tree filled canyons in an urban area, surrounded by residential homes. The wildlife has adapted well to the “encroachment” into their habitat. Although man has extensively hunted bobcats and coyotes for sport and fur, their populations are still abundant. God designed amazing adaptability into His creatures!
Lanny Johnson
