Bobcat ...and the cat came back...

Yes, the Bobcat, Lynx rufus, returned!

Several days after the initial sighting, the bobcat and I met again. Meanwhile, someone in the neighborhood reported a lost Yorkshire Terrier. It went for a run outside the yard and never came back. Hard to know, but the coincidence is hard to ignore. 

The second time we saw him, and I do believe that this was a male, he was hunting in  the lower section of the property obviously checking out the rodents that were minding their business among the grasses and under the hard cover of snow. 

Absorbed in its hunt, the cat ignored everything else in the surrounding world. Just like any domestic cat, it noiselessly covered the ground on its quiet feet ...

than sat ... listened ...observed ... patiently waiting for its moment to arrive....

When it did the bobcat sprung up like a Jack from a box and in one elegant motion attacked its prey. 

Missed! 

At least I believed that he did, for there was no sign of a dinner.

Only after his unsuccessful hunt did the Bobcat become aware of the shining glass of my 400 mm lens. He gave me a very long look-over, a bunch of unfriendly thoughts and then, just like the first time, he dashed away, leaving me with a memory that will, forever, be hard to forget.

Bobcats' common name (in English) is derived from its short tail as this one demonstrates the case. Because of its reddish colour they might call it a red lynx  in other parts of the world.

Bobcats are elusive and territorial animals but the winter is their mating time. Males might start wondering and as the saying goes - love (or hunger for that matter ) is a powerful magician - so that's probably why this handsome creature lost its normal bobcat mind and let us witness the small portion of its bobcat day.