My bobcat buddy is still around. These images and video were taken with my remote Bushnell Trophy Cam trail camera in November and mid December. ALL WERE TAKEN WITHIN 100 YARDS OF OUR HOUSE! Of course we live on the north edge of Minnesota’s Nemadji River Valley with many square miles of roadless bog and wooded wilderness to the south.
What a fat and beautiful animal! If the still images taken in mid December are the same Bobcat as in the video (taken in mid November), why does this one seem so much “fatter?” It could be that it has acquired more of its denser winter coat and so appears fluffier (i.e. fatter). Or it cold be a different individual.
My dream is to someday photograph this gorgeous animal with a “real” camera from a blind. But how many frigid hours would I have to sit before getting a glimpse? And one click of the shutter might send it scampering.
Cats are cats
Note in the video how many familiar cat-like traits/behaviors this Bobcat has…the way it stretches on the log, its body posture when it eats, how it shakes its head, sharpens its claws and wags its short tail…all very feline.
What camera?
I also love how the Bobcat (and most wildlife) is unfazed by the camera and its red lights. This makes sense though since many mammals cannot see light in this spectrum. Cats and wild cats (Bobcat, Lynx, Mountain Lion, etc.) see in color, but they have difficulty distinguishing reds. “Reds appear as differing shades of gray to a cat. It is believed both dogs and cats see mainly in grays, yellows, and blues” (from wisegeek.com).
I hope she sticks around…and maybe more chicken, grouse and deer carcasses will help convince her that Skogstjarna is a good place to spend a cold winter.
4 responses to “My fat Bobcat (video and stills) Bushnell Trophy Cam”
Alan Olander
January 8th, 2012 at 18:22
Great video! Which Bushnell Trophy Cam do you have?
Sparky Stensaas
January 17th, 2012 at 13:37
Hi Alan,
I have the version from a few years back…The current year-model has some great new features including HD video! Mine does not. I hope to get one soon.
Bob Hamilton
July 8th, 2012 at 08:12
What did you set out to bait this beautiful bobcat? I was always under the impression that a live animal, such as a rabbit, had to be set out to bait a cat. Any advice would be greatly appreciated here in the mountains of Nrn Pennsylvania. Thanks!
Sparky Stensaas
July 8th, 2012 at 19:51
Hi Bob,
The camera is only a hundred feet from my house in the North Woods of MN. I had a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for dinner and put the carcass along my trail…That’s all! I recorded the Bobcat on about six different nights over 4 months so my guess is that he/she uses the trail regularly. And p.s. I’d never put out a live animal…That’s just cruel. Lynx researchers here in MN will sometimes put a scent on a tree so Lynx will stop and check it out…I know they have used Stetson Cologne!