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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Midday stroll

Do you recognize this rufous fur and striped tail?




 Here are a few more hints:




I encountered this Bobcat (Lynx rufus) walking along the side of the road today.  When it noticed me it started heading into the dunes.  This next photo makes me think it wasn't too happy to be disturbed during its midday stroll.


I'm not sure how consistent Bobcat fur patterns are.  I looked back at the pictures from June 2012, but couldn't tell if this might be the same individual.  What do you think?

1 comment:

Peter said...

Jackie, you raise an interesting question, and I think we can see that these are two different animals. Look closely at the tail stripes. The June tail has full-width stripes continuing higher on the tail (closer to its base) and decreasing in thickness consistently. The January tail has fewer stripes, almost none in the upper parts, and a double stripe above a single strip. I think the tails are different.

I think I see a difference in the head stripes, too. The June bobcat has a vertical dark stripe in the center of the forehead that I do not see in the January animal.