Photos not taken
Some of you may know where my Flickr site is. If you do, ask, I'll direct you. You'll have to get a login to view some of the photos.
But I digress.
This weekend #1 son and I went backpacking with friends. A first for him, a first in many years for me. It's as much fun (and work) as I remember it! Short hike, but the sounds from a campsite that is away from everything else are lovely. (Siloam Springs SP in IL is pretty isolated.)
The one sound, however, that made NO sense was a hissing/yowling..... Well, hard to describe. Something was upset and I had no idea what it was last night. Probably about 11? I was half asleep when all this ruckus began.
It all made MUCH more sense this morning when, during the hike out, I saw passing across the trail about 50 yards ahead of me, a bobcat! About 8 or 8:30 in the morning, which is unusually late for one (they're normally nocturnal), but it was heading into a big stand of red pines where it might have had a cozy spot to sleep the day away.
Cool and collected, minding it's own business, not much concerned that humans were around. Bobcats are typically pretty shy of humans. Size: Probably 16" to 18" at the shoulder, tawny, black tufts at the tips of the ears. Really, really cool to see!
Now, Illinois is known to have a healthy and expanding population of bobcats. There is ALSO the long time rumor of mountain lions in the state. I've seen my share of poor infrared game camera shots of felines in the woods. And, typically, the scale looks ..... Off.
After having seen one in person, I think I can explain a lot of these "sightings" as bobcats from people who can't judge scale of what they're seeing. Because, in person, you aren't likely to see Spots, Stripes, exact Tail, or any other "key" details to judge, just a quick glimpse of feline gait, tawny color, and it's gone.
Not to say that there aren't cougars/mountain lions in the state, but given my observation of visual similarities, I think it starts to explain the persistent rumors. At least to me.
Judging scale is a matter of visually replaying a scene immediately after it happened, and making reference to things that didn't leave the area to help immediately reinforce facts in your mind. In my case, it was knowing I wouldn't get a closer glimpse, and looking back to take a hard look at the height of the undergrowth it had strolled through.
But I digress.
This weekend #1 son and I went backpacking with friends. A first for him, a first in many years for me. It's as much fun (and work) as I remember it! Short hike, but the sounds from a campsite that is away from everything else are lovely. (Siloam Springs SP in IL is pretty isolated.)
The one sound, however, that made NO sense was a hissing/yowling..... Well, hard to describe. Something was upset and I had no idea what it was last night. Probably about 11? I was half asleep when all this ruckus began.
It all made MUCH more sense this morning when, during the hike out, I saw passing across the trail about 50 yards ahead of me, a bobcat! About 8 or 8:30 in the morning, which is unusually late for one (they're normally nocturnal), but it was heading into a big stand of red pines where it might have had a cozy spot to sleep the day away.
Cool and collected, minding it's own business, not much concerned that humans were around. Bobcats are typically pretty shy of humans. Size: Probably 16" to 18" at the shoulder, tawny, black tufts at the tips of the ears. Really, really cool to see!
Now, Illinois is known to have a healthy and expanding population of bobcats. There is ALSO the long time rumor of mountain lions in the state. I've seen my share of poor infrared game camera shots of felines in the woods. And, typically, the scale looks ..... Off.
After having seen one in person, I think I can explain a lot of these "sightings" as bobcats from people who can't judge scale of what they're seeing. Because, in person, you aren't likely to see Spots, Stripes, exact Tail, or any other "key" details to judge, just a quick glimpse of feline gait, tawny color, and it's gone.
Not to say that there aren't cougars/mountain lions in the state, but given my observation of visual similarities, I think it starts to explain the persistent rumors. At least to me.
Judging scale is a matter of visually replaying a scene immediately after it happened, and making reference to things that didn't leave the area to help immediately reinforce facts in your mind. In my case, it was knowing I wouldn't get a closer glimpse, and looking back to take a hard look at the height of the undergrowth it had strolled through.