I think we have a Bobcat on the farm.
Not that she lives here, but she crosses the pasture, uses the Gulley Bridge then makes her way into the meadows that border our property.
I’ve been seeing her (I don’t know if it’s a male or female, so I’m calling it a female) tracks in the snow for a month or so. They seems to take the same path, like she’s circling her territory.
I have a tacking book then double checked the footprint with images I found online.
The difference between dog or coyote tracks is that coyote and dog tracks have nail prints and tend to be more rectangular in shape. A cat track has no nails (cats mostly walk with their nails retracted) and they’re shape is closer to a square.
At first I wondered if it wasn’t a domestic cat whose tracks I was seeing. I thought that maybe the snow around the footprint melted and made it appear bigger than it really way. But I learned that the one big distinction between a domestic cat and Bobcat is the size of the footprint. These footprints are a 2 inches long, much bigger than a domestic cat.
Then yesterday, on the same trail as the footprints I found scat.
Scat is even harder to identify than a footprint. The scat I saw could easily have been coyote. But the only tracks around it were the cat prints. And the bigger cats, like Bobcats, don’t cover their scat. They often leave it on their trail to mark their territory, like coyotes do.
Last week I followed the tracks through the side and back pasture and found the markings it made in the snow when it crawled under the gate. Fate always crawls under the same gate on the way back from our walks to get to the sheep, so I know it’s possible for an animal her size to do.
Bobcats eat small mammals especially rabbits. Over the past couple of years we’ve had much more rabbits than I’ve ever seen before. Maybe this is why the Bobcat has moved in.
Bobcats are nocturnal so I doubt I’ll ever see this one. But I’m going to keep watching for footprints and the other signs of her in the woods.
I’ll let you know what I find…
I think you’re right. We’ve had a couple of bobcats around for a few months now. They are beautiful.
I’m hearing about more and more Bobcat sightings around here Jill. Now I’m convinced it is a Bobcat. I do hope I get to see it one day.
love your forays into the forest………….such awesome discoveries……….if you’re in tune with it,
which you are. thanks for sharing your adventures, Maria.
Thanks Donna. It’s so good to know that you’re out there reading and enjoying.
We live on the coast of South Carolina and saw one recently under a bird feeder in a beach community about 10 in the morning. About a year ago we saw one crossing a road in the daylight in a wooded area. So you may very well get a glimpse of yours in the daylight.
I’m hearing more and more of that Cynthia. I do hope I get to see her.