Friday, January 25, 2008

Wild beauty



Isn't he gorgeous?

There must have been condensation on the camera lens, or fog, or a bit of both. I doctored it, but this is the best I could do.

Here's the original:



Ghost bobcat!

I apologize if you're getting sick of the game cam pictures. I haven't found time to take anything new myself, between the cold weather, frenzied soapmaking, and the RAIN. Not a great amount, but we've had a couple of long-slow-all-day rains. I wish we'd get a few more, we really need them.

FC asked earlier whether the camera went through a lot of batteries. Not really, usually. When it's cold like it has been lately -- it's been getting down into the low twenties or teens more often than normal this year -- the battery life is shorter. We always use Duracell batteries. That Energizer bunny is cute, but he ain't got nothing on Duracell when it comes to game cam battery longevity.

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Submitted to the Friday Ark.

29 comments:

Bill said...

Holy Bobcat!

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine ever getting sick of the game cam pics. I'm already plotting how to get one of my own.

KFarmer said...

No, no, no! I love your cam pictures! Knowing what is creeping and peeping about in your area is very interesting :)

bsm said...

please, keep 'em coming!

Anonymous said...

I never get sick of anything on your blog, and neither do my students!

robin andrea said...

Love seeing those bobcat pics. That is a nice healthy looking cat. Our local newspaper told us that a young mountain lion was found dead not more than 600 feet from our house on Monday. Now that would not be so surprising if we were still in Washington, but this is the central coast of California, and the cat was practically in the touristy village. It had to have walked past house after house to get where it was found.

egassner said...

I'm not sure how I warndered onto your blog...but I love these game cam pics! I just bought my hubby oe for his b-day (still have to wait a few weeks!) But I am so excited to put it up! I didn't want to get a flash cam so I went with IR, but it looks like the flash really doesn't scare them away!

kaylee said...

I love your critter
cam.
Keep them coming.

Anonymous said...

Yep, I never tire of the game cam pix. Keep them coming. Keep posting.

Bobby said...

That is awesome! Please do keep posting those.

That'd be cool if you caught the actually Energizer Bunny on your game cam.

Anonymous said...

please keep the cam pix coming. I love them!

Anonymous said...

I don't think you have to worry about boring people with the game cam pictures.

Anonymous said...

great catch. I'm still waiting for a Fred Astaire-like dancing and singing bullfrog in a tophat. It's only a matter of time.

Rurality said...

Thanks everybody. I'm glad you aren't getting tired of them.

I'm not sure if the animals get scared by the flash or not. I guess we need two -- one to take a pic just after the first one, to see if it scared them! But it doesn't seem to scare them away from the area, anyway. Maybe they just think it's lightning...?

Now, a mountain lion like RA mentioned, or bears like Dave seems to have a lot, well that would make me a lot more nervous than what we get around here.

I will keep you all apprised of sightings of any sasquatch, yeti, chupacabra, Energizer bunny, or dancing frog.

We were planning to move the camera again this weekend, but we may end up waiting one more week.

Driftwood and Pumpkin said...

So cool! We only have 9 acres, but as I mentioned before, we have deer, fox, and other critters. Nothing as cool as that! I thought about getting a wildlife camera for my hubby for Christmas, but then didn't. Now I am sorry!

Kerri Farley said...

Great shot of the Bobcat! PLease don't STOP the game cam pics! They are FAB! Especially for those of us that don't get to see too much wildlife like this!!

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Wow!
I'll take any shot of a Bobcat!
Just knowing they're there would be wild!
Nothing that exciting in my area--but I have seen a coyote, too.

Anonymous said...

You know, I was thinking about this. Since you are our role model and everything, you can't call a moratorium on game camera pix now that a bunch of us just got cameras.

cyndy said...

Sick of game cam pics? Nevaaah!!

Amazing Bobcat...beautiful...like he has a wonderful aura around him...

Anonymous said...

No need to be sorry! Any bobcat photo I got foggy or not would be up on my site in a second! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Well, I've gotten the wildlife cam back out, for specific reasons that came clear last weekend.

Our closest neighbors (about 1/5 mile away) let their small dogs out for a final bathroom run at around midnight last Friday night. Within two minutes one came in basically ripped to shreds. Just enough time, our neighbors said, to put some wood in the woodstove before going to bed.

The photos they sent us are astonishing - I really don't know how the dog survived. Seven major areas, mainly on his back, hindquarters, and one on the neck, that punctured and ripped the skin.

The dog is tentatively ok - they spent most of the rest of the night at the all-night clinic our area's veterinarians set up for emergencies and the vet there did a good job of patching the poor fellow up.

The vets they've seen weren't much help as to cause - they're used to dealing with urban situations and so insisted it was a "big dog little dog fight."

I recommended they contact another neighbor who happens to be a wildlife biologist. He was fairly certain, after examining the wounds, that it wasn't a Great Horned Owl, somewhat less sure but still dismissive of a coyote, and settled on bobcat from the appearance of the wounds.

We have all three predator species around here.

Needless to say, we're keeping an eye on our animals and getting them in at night.

And needless to say, for I doubt if my neighbors and most others will agree, I can't help it but the ecologist in me is still glad we have wild predators around here. And so then the critter cam, which we'll now use to see if we can spot whatever-it-was.

Anonymous said...

I agree. Please keep the game cam posts coming!

In fact, I was thinking of buying one, but all I could hope for on our balcony is a crow.

My sister has a raccoon situation at her house, so the game cam might make a great birthday present for her.

anne said...

Sick of the game cam?! No way! As others have said, please keep them coming.

This photo is just gorgeous - the halo effect adds to the beauty of the cat, I think.

Rurality said...

Tracey, there's always his birthday!

Thanks Kerri. This is usually the only way we get to see them too.

Nina, yeah I love seeing what prowls around at night when we're not there!

Pablo, I think you're the only one who's actually posted any pictures though! The reat of y'all need to get on the ball. :)

Thanks Cyndy, yes, aura, I should have thought of that!

Tom, this is the closest bobcat pic we've ever had and I just wish it had been clearer. Oh well can't have everything.

Wayne, I hope you can figure it out. I'll be watching!

Maktaaq, we had a raccoon situation at our old place... now the coyotes take care of that for us. :)

Thanks Anne. I just didn't want to get into too much of a routine!

Lynne said...

We always look forward to more pictures. Keep them coming...and thank you!

lisa said...

I agree with everyone else-please keep the game cam pics coming!

Dora Renee Wilkerson said...

Did you see this Bob Cat at your place?

Oh, boy I am going to lock up my chickens for sure..lol

That's a really neat picture!

Dora Renee' Wilkerson

Rurality said...

Thanks y'all.

DRW, I have actually never seen one, though my husband has. The camera sees them regularly though, when it's in the right spot.

ascales said...

I want to send you some bobcat pics that are absolutely amazing. Can I post them here somehow or can I e-mail them to you?