In mid-December I returned to central California with Brent Paull to search for bobcats. This trip was a do-over. In the spring I went down in hopes of finally getting my first decent bobcat photos, and even though I technically accomplished that mission, we saw “only” three bobcats in two days (and only got decent photos of one of them), which is far below the type of numbers Brent’s used to seeing.
So I had to get back—this time a bit earlier in the season—to try again. It paid off. In a BIG way.
In two days we spotted seventeen bobcats. I never thought that one of North America’s most elusive predators could be found in such numbers in a relatively confined space, but there’s something special about this area. It’s probably the food. There’s an abundance of California ground squirrels in the region, as well as other rodents and plenty of birds. Enough to support a very healthy population.
Over the course of the two days, we probably had a few repeats, but I’m guessing we had at least a dozen individual cats (and probably more), all within a 10 mile radius. Below you’ll find a few more preview images. Click over to the Pinnacles 2015 gallery to see more bobcats and other animals from this latest trip.
See more in the Pinnacles 2015 gallery, and remember that you can now order prints of nearly any photo in the photo archive!
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2 Comments
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Awesome photos Max! We love watching these cats and they seem to tolerate people well if you approach them carefully (or let them approach you).
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Thanks Alan. I’d still like to try the experience at Point Reyes some day, but for now I’m pretty satisfied. Not to say we won’t look for them in Yellowstone in February. It would be nice to get one in a full winter coat.
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