Chaney Trail bobcat - live!

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Wed May 13, 2009 12:45 pm

I took a bike ride up to Brown Mtn saddle this morning. Saw no tracks, no scat, no animal sign whatsoever, until I got back in my car and drove down the road - this little bobcat strolls across right in front of me. He stopped and looked at the car, then disappeared down the bank on the right. I drove up to the pullout, frantically threw the contents of my backpack all over my car to get my camera out, and by the time I got out of the car, he had walked back up to the road.

This guy seemed not right - he looked healthy, physically (and very young), but was meowing and sometimes growling, and looking straight at me. I didn't get too close, though from his behavior (just standing there) I could have. He walked back across the road, and went straight up the road cut on the other side, then off into the brush again.

My little point-n-shoot camera SUCKS, and I am kicking myself for not having something better. Here are some cropped, and zoomed pics. The full set is on my photobucket page here: http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr20 ... =slideshow

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed May 13, 2009 1:06 pm

Cool photos. Odd behavior. Meowing? Could he have been kept as a pet and then abandoned? Just a (really) wild guess.

Elwood · Post by **Elwood** » Wed May 13, 2009 1:28 pm

Hey Cougar,

Great shots regardless! Thanks for posting them. I almost forgot how beautiful bobbies can be. I've never been able to get my camera out fast enough despite three encounters.

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed May 13, 2009 2:51 pm

Vicious beast!

Cool stuff.

Ze Hiker · Post by **Ze Hiker** » Wed May 13, 2009 2:56 pm

nice job! very cool

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Wed May 13, 2009 4:20 pm

Zach · Post by **Zach** » Wed May 13, 2009 6:23 pm

amazing!

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Wed May 13, 2009 8:44 pm

Yeah... some of these bobcats are soooo habituated to humans. That may be the same bobcat that hangs around the stable on Chaney Trail (...can't see the stable from the road.)

There is one at my house that, if you are driving down the road, will wait until you back up the road so that it can continue its uphill stroll. Damn cat has us trained!

hvydrt · Post by **hvydrt** » Wed May 13, 2009 8:57 pm

I had a similar experience in Forest Falls a few years ago. The cat walked slowly across the road right in front of my truck. I got out and it just stood off to the side of the road and stared at me, then casually walked off. It seemed like something was wrong with it.

Post by **HikeUp** » Wed May 13, 2009 9:02 pm

AlanK wrote:Meow

LOL. Vicious beast!

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Wed May 13, 2009 10:22 pm

Hvydrt & Mike P - that makes me feel better, actually. Maybe that is normal behavior for a bobcat that is very used to people. If it is, then I can enjoy getting to see one so close, and not worry about it being sick.

Mike - the backing up thing is too funny!

hvydrt - cool pics!

brian90620 · Post by **brian90620** » Wed May 13, 2009 10:31 pm

Nice pictures

............ It's really cool that he stopped and let you take his picture.......... 8) Here's a picture of one My gf and I saw on ACH near Mt Waterman http://picasaweb.google.com/brian90620/ ... 6016641490

cougarmagic · Post by **cougarmagic** » Wed May 13, 2009 10:45 pm

Oh wow - brian, that's a great shot! See - that one is doing the same thing, too - just sitting there, looking at you...

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Thu May 14, 2009 12:01 pm

He's thinking "... let's see, if I took small bites ... the one would last me ..."

Mike P · Post by **Mike P** » Thu May 14, 2009 10:42 pm

cougarmagic wrote: Maybe that is normal behavior for a bobcat that is very used to people. If it is, then I can enjoy getting to see one so close, and not worry about it being sick.

I was working at the Chaney Trail stable this afternoon and asked them about the bobcat. They confirmed that there is a very habituated bobcat up there. They see him often and one runner sees him/her frequently along a running trail up there. Explains a lot...

kgw · Post by **kgw** » Fri May 15, 2009 2:24 pm

No pictures, but a few years back I was working on a house in Mandeville Canyon. The upper end of the driveway was right up into the upper ridge, and early one morning a beautiful bobcat walked out of the rill across the driveway. Just glanced at me and continued on.

Richard N. · Post by **Richard N.** » Mon May 18, 2009 5:36 pm

I ran across a 170# mountain lion in Dark Canyon two years ago. At first I thought it was a large coyote until I saw its tail. I yelled at it and it looked at me like, if I want you for dinner, your mine. I retreated backwards, always keeping the cat in sight. It walked away farther into the canyon.
Not my first cat sighting at all. Seen many lynx, bobcats as well as small to big cats. Never really feared any of them.