Tracking It
Although it didn't "spring" across the yard or through the yard, it did how up the afternoon Spring arrived. Once home from my hike, I changed and had just settled on the couch. The Pres was on his cell phone talking to one of his sisters when suddenly he said, "Get your camera...quick...get a picture of it!"
Rushing over to see "it" I had no idea what I was looking for until I said, "What am I trying to find out there?"
"There...there it is. It just went behind the briers."
Moving to another window, "it" soon exited the brush. Now I knew what "it" was as "it" slinked along the trail I use to walk into the woods. "It" was a beautiful, very healthy looking Bobcat (Lynx Rufus).
Guessing it was a male, based on it's size, I reported the sighting using iNaturalist.org, knowing that here in CT, bobcats are being tracked. As top predators, their numbers affect other species as well as competing predators. The goal is to tag and collar 50 bobcats in order to monitor diet and habitat as well as their population.
Watching it disappear into the woods to our North, as a few crows badgered it by sounding their alert, I got dressed and headed into the woods to "back-track it." It's prints were very visible in the snow and I decided then that I would always carry a small tape measure with me in the future (to get precise info on the dimensions of the paw prints and the length of it's stride).
just seeing, saying, and sharing...
Tracking It
with you and those at
Camera Critters
After reviewing the pix I took of the prints in the snow, I did a little research about Bobcat tracks and found this at Wilderness College:
After reviewing the pix I took of the prints in the snow, I did a little research about Bobcat tracks and found this at Wilderness College:
The above photo shows male bobcat footprints on the left and female tracks on the right. For both individuals the front foot is at the bottom and the hind is at the top of the screen. The photo clearly demonstrates some of the key morphological differences to look for in male versus female tracks. The characteristics to look for are:
Male Bobcat:
- Relatively larger and rounder track than tracks of a female bobcat
- Heel pad is larger overall, and is wider at the top edge
- Toes are more robust and rounder than the toes of a female bobcat
- There is less negative space between the heel pad and toes
Female Bobcat:
- Relatively smaller and more oval-shaped track than male tracks
- Heel pad is smaller overall, and is narrower at the top edge
- Toes are smaller and narrower, also more oval-shaped
- There is more negative space between the heel pad and toes
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