The bobcat’s back and I hope we don’t have any trouble. We never had dogs running loose before, but we can’t keep the Duke in the fenced yard, so I just hope they don’t intersect anytime soon.
Squirrel survivor
I looked out on the back yard this morning. It was covered in a couple of inches of snow on top of a crunchy batch of solid sleet. I could see Duke’s prints too. There was an interesting crosshatch of bobcat and dog prints and I got to thinking that I really hope the Duke doesn’t try to take on the bobcat. I’m pretty sure the bobcat would win that one.
A local bobcat. Smaller than ones in other parts of the continent, but able to leap 30 feet in a single bound. I’ve seen them do it. It’s amazing.
It’s a small bobcat, about the size of a large house cat, but those little guys are strong. And hungry. We only have one bobcat at a time except when we get a mother with kittens. As soon as one of the kittens lays claim to the area, all the other cats disappear. There’s only one bobcat in an area at a time and unless they are mating, they don’t pal around with each other.
Our perching Mourning Dove … He actually sat there long enough for me to finally get a few clear shots. Then he flew away but he was really patient with me and the camera.
It also explains why the birds have been so nervous. The squirrel that showed up this morning looked healthy, but something — my best guess is an eagle or a hawk — took a piece out of his neck. Somehow, he wrenched free.
Red-Tailed Hawk – They live in Canada and the U.S.., coast to coast.
It’s a battleground out there. We have always had more predators than we have prey. That’s why we don’t have a cat. They get eaten, as often as not by coyotes, but a big red-wing hawk can take a cat or a small dog … or a baby goat or lamb. They always warn us not to leave puppies outside unless they are in a cage with a roof. And even with that, keep it close to home.
We have a lot of these guys, too. You can see them in the driveway around twilight.
Raccoons can easily kill even a pretty big dog. They have super thick skin, long teeth, and claws. Adults can (and do) top fifty pounds. They are a lot stronger then they look and can under the right circumstances.
They come in all sizes and no matter how cute they are, be careful. If they aren’t tame, they can be pretty rough.
And then we have our own polecat, the Fisher, which will pretty much eat anything but prefers fish. We tend to get very romantic about animals in the wild, but they are the hunters and the hunted. The small ones hunt bugs and the eggs of smaller birds. Bigger ones hunt them … and then, there are even bigger hunters.
The Fisher who is not actually a cat. He’s a weasel with a beautiful coat. Nearly extinct from hunting and is now making a serious comeback. He likes our backyard. It’s sunny and he will sit in the middle of the sunny area and he won’t leave until he’s good and ready. They come in very dark brown, black, and deep red. They are not friendly and they are bigger than they look in pictures.
In the end, there is us. We hunt everything because we have guns … and we can. Meanwhile, I hope my little wild dog doesn’t decide to take on a bobcat. That isn’t a match I want to see.
And then, there’s the Duke
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Categories: #animals, #Photography, Humor, Nature, New England, Wildlife
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
I’ve been told that raccoons will kill a dog by drowning it.. luring it to the river and then climbing on its head and holding it under water.
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I do love my critters, although I prefer for them to be made of plastic or plush and sitting on my shelf. Thankfully, I’m far enough inside the city to be away from the cat and dog eating predators… at least the ones who can’t fly.
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Wow, just amazing what variety of wildlife you have literally ‚in your garden‘….. that would be quite scary for me and I wouldn‘t venture out easily. You name beasts here I haven‘t heard of ever and I am shamefully reminded that towards the end of my short stint to Canada in the early Seventies, when I was just about the legal age and went with my new husband there, I was buying a raccoon coat. It was so damn heavy that I, a small person, nearly drowned in it. Coming back to Switzerland two years later, the discussions around wearing furs started and I wouldn‘t have wanted to be seen in my expensive and beautiful coat. (I had been sent away once earlier when I tried to visit the Zoo wearing that coat…. Can‘t believe nowadays that I wasn‘t more aware but let‘s blame my youth for once!)
I gave it to a collectio of clothes to our church who shipped my ‚priceless‘ garment to Romania I think….. Can‘t imagine that anybody there was allowed to wear such an expensive coat but wasn‘t sorry to see it go.
Then, your photography is taking momentum in leaps and bounds – these pics are stellar!
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Fab photos Marilyn. The wilderness outside your door is far more variously populated (and dangerous) than anything you’d find here. I get excited when I see native birds and maybe the occasional lizard or weta.
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Lovely pictures of all the wildlife but I can understand why you are anxious for the Duke. Even if he didn’t get himself killed I would think that a bite or scratch from one of these critters would possibly lead to an infection. Somehow I don’t feel he’d even be afraid of a bear.
I didn’t realise that raccoons could eat such large prey and I’d not see the Fisher before but I immediately thought it looked more like a weasel than a cat. Our wildlife is mostly possums, wallabies and various other small marsupials. I haven’t seen Tasmanian Devils locally but in the places where they are wild they mainly eat roadkill rather than attacking other animals.
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The bobcats took out ALL of our rabbits, many of our squirrels, and I haven’t seen a chipmunk in a couple of years. They are hearty eaters and when they clean out this area, they move on, then come back a year or two later when the small wildlife has returned.
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I can see why you are concerned.
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Exquisite pictures, Marilyn. Just WOW!
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I celebrate a good camera and a sharp lens 😀
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Indeed you do! With passion and gusto! not to mention the beauty you capture! 🙂
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You’re going to have to look out for the Duke. He’d make a nice meal for one of those critters.
Leslie
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I don’t think the bobcat would eat him, but with his strength and claws, he could kill him easy enough. THEN the coyotes could eat him.
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Not a pleasant thought…
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Gosh what wildlife you have. Fabulous photos.
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It’s getting wilder every year as this area that was once quite metropolitan sinks back into rural life. New animals and birds — and now bears — show up every year.
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Bears!
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Black bears. The smallest of the bears, but they still run 300 or more pounds and there isn’t a full-grown bear who can’t take down any human or dog. So far, they haven’t made much of a fuss, but they are around. We see their footprints.
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Worrying when you have dogs to care for, but marvellous too. Hopefully they will keep themselves to themselves.
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Oh, my –so many beautiful predators! I hope Duke doesn’t take on any of them, the bobcat in particular!
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Duke’s a smart boy. I hope he’s smart enough to stay out of the way of the animals with long claws.
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If it’s any comfort, the fence won’t stop a bobcat anyway.
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It always did stay out of the front yard because the dogs were so LOUD. But he’d stroll along the fence, driving the dogs nuts. Sometimes he would just sit there while the dogs went bananas. Nobody told our bobcat he was supposed to be afraid of us because he was NOT afraid of us, not one little bit. He eventually moved into my tepee, which was the end of the tepee for me. I would come near and open the door. Out would leap the bobcat.
He’d just sit there and look at me … until I left.
I liked the teepee. It was dry, cozy, with soft stuff to sleep on. I liked it — and so did he. He got all the mice out of there, too. The bobcat was much neater than the mice. Mind you his mom had given birth in the neighbor’s shed (he never went into the shed again). Bobcats aren’t huge, but they you get the feeling that there’s a lot of power packed in that little furry body.
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The bobcat will be a good mouse deterrent.
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So are the fishers and the hawks. But yes, since the bobcats came to live, we have FAR fewer rodents of every kind. I think that’s why the squirrels are so wary of being on the ground. That bobcat climbed OVER our roof and jumped down on the deck, landed next to me (enough to make you give up cigarettes!), then leaped from the deck to about 20 feet into the yard. That’s down about 12 feet plus another twenty feet. He did not look winded.
They also have these bright, reflective eyes I swear look like lamps. They like hunting just around dusk, and the area near our shed is his favorite. He probably shows up early in the morning too, but I’ve only met him when he emerged from the tepee … and I think Owen lost ten years of life when he dropped from the roof underneath our deck.
He doesn’t run away. He just stands there and LOOKS at you … more like YOU should be doing the running. Generally, I walk slowly and casually in another direction. So far, no bears, but they are in town and many people have seen them.
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Duke is a wild child, and seemingly a little crazy.., but he’s far from stupid. If I’m correct about my friend, there is no up-coming bout with any bobcat, raccoon, or weasel. He coulda been a contender.., but I think he likes being alive way better.
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I sure HOPE not. Because the bobcat is smaller by weight (well, maybe about the same size, but packed tighter in his skin), but he has some serious weaponry — and he IS wild.
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We have had bobcats in the city, coyotes too. I blame it on urban sprawl. They are losing their habitat. A coyote was shot by police not too far from here a few years ago. People were upset, but the police could not get anyone out fast enough with a dart gun to put it to sleep. Generally, they are relocated. They are fast and elusive and having one cornered for a while could lead to something unpleasant. Wolves and bobcats are released in the wild if they can be caught.
Racoons and possums are a different story. We just have to put up with them. I guess the racoons can have feral cats for breakfast, I don’t know, squirrels too.
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Raccoons have been living in cities as long as I can remember. When we lived in downtown (really middle of) Boston, we had one living in our “backyard,” into which — after the raccoon made it clear that we were upsetting his afternoon ritual of lounging in the lawn chair — we felt we’d just let him have the back and we’d just stay in the front. We didn’t live there that long, but that was one enormous raccoon.
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That bobcat is worrisome, I’m sure. I didn’t know anything about the Fisher; not sure if I’ve ever lived anyplace that has them!
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Fisher were native to this region and nearly hunted to extinction. Probably why they are in a permanently bad mood ever since. Owen had seen one (we had ferrets, which are tiny polecats) and we recognized that movement. It’s nothing like a cat or dog. Then I saw one right near the house, so I call the wildlife authority and they said: “Yes, the Fishers are definitely back and be careful with cats and small dogs.” We have one big red one that likes to lounge on our back lawn. The fisher isn’t aggressive. Bobcats CAN be if attacked, but they do most of the attacking and their goal is rabbits, squirrels, rats, mice, birds, etc. It’s more a matter that all will be well IF Duke leaves him alone.
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Okay, I’ve seen a ferret before, so know what that is like. We have a few bobcats around our area and many rabbits. I imagine they keep them on their “toes.” Duke looks like such a sweet dog:)
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I hope Duke doesn’t take on any of those animals. I’m glad we mostly have only bunnies and squirrels – although there are raccoons, too, and I hope I never see one that’s 50 lbs. That’s bigger than Puppy Cody.
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Raccoons life a long life. Mostly, we see baby raccoons hanging around trash bins, but the big boys — when well fed which they are in cities — they do LOVE trash — get really big. I think 50 is about their max, but that is some huge raccoon.
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You guys have quite a collection of wild life in your backyard.
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We live in the woods — and so do the beasts. We share.
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👍😊
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