The Kitty Cat

Friday, April 1 was quite an unusual day for me.  Jean woke me up about 10:30 a.m. to tell me that there was a bobcat eating a dead deer in our backyard.  Of course I asked her if she was serious because that sort of thing doesn't happen very often.  When I got upstairs, sure enough there was a bobcat eating a mule deer near our greenhouse.

We believe that the bobcat killed the deer directly or indirectly because behind the carcass was a green metal pole that was bent down to the ground.  We think that when the bobcat was attacking the deer, the deer hit the pole with its full body weight.

For the rest of the day I watched the bobcat as it bathed, slept, ate, and tried to bury the carcass.  There was even a point when it went inside our greenhouse.  Other mule deer came by and grazed nearby.  A couple bison even came within 10 feet of the cat and its dinner.  At dusk, I watched the bobcat chase a cottontail rabbit in the yard.  I haven't seen the bobcat since then.

I had to promise my friends and other people I spoke with that this wasn't an April Fool's joke.  Of course something so unusual would happen on April Fool's Day!  To see a bobcat during the day is unusual, but to see it near deer and bison also is almost unheard of in this area.  I felt really privileged to be able to see this in my backyard.

Saturday my uncle Tim brought a friend of his and a trained dog to track down the bobcat and give it the fear of God.  We honestly don't want it to be near habitations and get used to people.  That could be dangerous for the people that live in the area--then the bobcat would have to be put down.  Though the dog never got to see the bobcat, it got excited near Little Trail Creek, which is only a quarter mile away from my house.  We think it's living over there.  In the general area are 14 carcasses: 13 deer and 1 elk.  That's right--there's an elk that bobcat has been chewing on.  We think that it killed some of the deer.  Highway 89 is near the creek and we believe that the elk and some of the deer were hit on the road and died in the trees near the bobcat's lair.  That bobcat has been eating well this winter!

Enjoy the photos and videos!

The bobcat rests next to a mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat sits next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat rests next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat sleeps next to the mule deer carcass.

Peek-a-boo!  I see you!

The bobcat hangs out in our greenhouse.

The bobcat hangs out in our greenhouse.

The bobcat eats the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat protracts its claws as it bathes.

The bobcat yawns next to the deer carcass.

The bobcat sleeps next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat bathes next to the mule deer carcass.

The bobcat sits next to the mule deer carcass.

Mule deer graze about 20 feet from the bobcat.

Bison graze about 10 feet from the bobcat.

One bison got less than 10 feet from the bobcat.

The bobcat eats the mule deer.

The bobcat eats the mule deer.