Somewhere in New Mexico:

Mighty Mac

in rain clouds

The young bobcat I encountered while walking yesterday. It was crouched when I came upon her, and you can tell she was quite annoyed at the interruption of the morning rabbit hunt.

The "Three Sisters" rock formation in the Blue Mountains in Australia, highlighted by the setting sun.

Wow....I love the Bobcat, but not sure I would have the nerve to walk right by her. Beautiful animal.

Beautiful, Gyr! And healthy! Kinda makes me want to reach out and pet her...give a scratch behind that ear. Thanks for sharing.

Bobcats are not dangerous; rare incidents of attacks are often rabid animals. But no, it would not be wise to reach out to attempt a belly rub or an ear scratch. lol It is a privilege just to share the trail. Much more common, and a relatively recent phenomenon in SoCal, are attacks from urbanized coyotes. The coyotes in the wilderness areas tend to remain more wary of people.

Ever get the feeling that Mother Nature is retaliating, Gyr. She's had enough of our overcrowding/overbuilding and is sending in the reclamation troops. The East is trying to tolerate a population upswing in not only coyotes...but black bears. They're getting so brazen that they've been found walking around stores...making reservations at some restaurants...and the like. So far they haven't been overly aggressive but no brave soul has challenged them either. They're given a wide berth.

A couple of weeks ago a camper on our property reported that he saw a black bear right next to our golf cart, which sits 30 feet from the house. A friend who was visiting said he thought he heard the golf cart start up at some point that night and wondered if it was my wife going to check on an injured horse. I now think it may have been the bear going for a joy ride. :-)

I wish I could tame a bobcat or an ocelot to be outside (still on their home turf), but let me pet it. When it wants, of course. They're so pretty.

Wonderful collection of photos today. I especially like Uptown Gal's photo of Big Mac and the wildlife pics by nicole and gyr_falcon.

We had a bob cat stroll through our yard a few months ago. Such a beautiful animal.

Ever get the feeling that Mother Nature is retaliating

Unfortunately, for most species, nature is losing. And animal problems are mishandled because the easy sound bite solution sounds good, even if science shows otherwise. In areas where coyotes take pets, calls for trapping and removal reaches rooms full of shouting level. However, it has been shown that the removal of coyotes quickly results in an increase their numbers. With the removal areas low in coyote population, remaining groups split up to take advantage of the open territory. The lack of competition triggers an increase in litter size, because there is an abundance of food. Trapping just does not work. But politicians cave to the pressure and do it anyway.

I don't live in a bear problem area--and for that I am thankful. I'll take the wimpy in comparison coyote problems over bear problems!