An intimate encounter with a Bobcat
- Kyle Forest
- Apr 27
- 4 min read
Wildlife are all around us. They are in our backyard, in our woods, and right next to us when we are stomping down the trail for our morning walk. Modern humans are so unaware, our senses are so dull from our over-sensitized technosphere, our minds are so noisy with the our human centered problems, that I would wager that the vast majority of people would walk past a hunting Bobcat without ever know it's there... like I (almost) did the other morning at the Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm. But a number of variables were in my favor on that morning.
Can you find the stalking bobcat?
Here the Bobcat is moving away from the thicket.
The Bobcat checks out some woodchuck tunnels and goes across the road.
The Bobcat is on a hunt that ends ungracefully
The Bobcat walks right next to me, completely unaware, until my friend comes to see what I was looking at- barefooted standing perfectly still on top of a stump just above the Great Hill Road.
What variables were in my favor?
I went outside- I cannot emphasize the importance of the act of going outside enough. You will not see much if you do not allow yourself the opportunity or put yourself in the context for these encounters. If you want to see amazing animals and see interesting wildlife behavior, you must go outside!
I was alone- Being alone gives you control over the intensity of your disturbance. We are a social species, and being social and talkative is so important for our sense of belonging and emotional well being BUT being social makes seeing wildlife exponentially harder. In a group, you are louder, you are moving more aggressively (which pressures animals harder- disturbs them more), and we are less aware of our surroundings because we're involved in a conversation that demands our attention. If you want to see more animals and you want to walk with another person you need to set rules about how you walk together-- think navy seals on a mission (not that you have to be that intense at all or even the entire time!!).
I was actively walking to reduce my disturbance- I was walking in the grassy median of a double track path. After I saw the Bobcat, I took off my sandals and walked as quietly as I could- hard soled shoes are so loud on a hard surface. I was not walking fast but slow and taking my time, soaking in the beautiful morning, and I was wearing quiet earth tone clothing, this helps reduce one's visual disturbance.
Have your head up- This is a phrase from trailing wildlife. It means, if you're only looking at the tracks, you will never see the animal. You must activate your senses. Look and search with curiosity, tune into the sounds around you. This is how I became aware of the Bobcat, I heard a slight noise to my left and I saw movement as they popped out of the thicket. These were subtle noises and movements that I could have easily overlooked had I not been in the right mindset.
Know when to move and when to be still- When I first saw it, I froze. I didn't know what the animal knew yet. Was the Bobcat aware of me? Was I considered a threat or an annoyance? I read the Bobcat's body language, just like another human. I suspected the Bobcat was aware of something but it wasn't sure what it was and so it carried on hunting. I took a sigh of relief and knew it wasn't scared.
Know the wind- Animals are so much more aware of scent than humans are... some of us could lose our sense of smell and barely notice a change BUT some animals, that is their dominant sense, can you even imagine what a world must feel like through smell? Bobcats are sight dominant like us but their sense of smell is far more developed than ours. When the Bobcat moved out of sight and sound, I moved to a location that was still down wind so it would stay unaware of me. I moved as quietly as I could and moved very slowly when I re-entered their range of view and then froze entirely when I got into position.
Animals don't flee first- Fleeing is the last thing an animal does to evade a threat. You can see in the last video, when the Bobcat catches wind of a human, they freeze (evasion 1) and then it minimizes its profile, and then, when the threat is clearly directed at them, the Bobcat flees. There are about a million evasion and alarm techniques animals employ but know how to interpret their severity of their behavior.
Have a bit of luck on your side- You can do all these things and not have a wildlife encounter, or you could do none of them and have a wildlife encounter, but each strategy will increase your chances.
Find the joy in seeing our wild neighbors. I feel so grateful to live in an area that still has wilderness, and people who care for nature. Feel free to share this message so more people can connect with our wild relatives. What we connect with, we care for, and what we care for we want to protect!
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