Tag: point reyes national seashore

Bobcat

Injured Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a bobcat with some lost fur.
Bobcat Has Lost Some Fur

I photographed this bobcat on May 2.  I saw that it had lost all its fur in one spot on its back.  It was like something with a straight edge to it had come down on the cat’s back and either moved rearward or the cat moved forward to cause a straight line of fur at the forward edge to release. As the object moved rearward the pressure lessened and less and less fur was removed until about 6 inches from the beginning the pressure was fully released.  As I photographed it I could see it was limping.  Something was wrong with its right hind leg.

Photo of bobcat that limped as it walked and had some fur missing on right hind leg.
Bobcat Limped As it Walked and is Missing a Strip of Fur on Its Right Hind Leg.

If you look closely you can see there is fur missing on the rear of the right hind leg midway between the heel and the letter “R” in the word “Rights.”  This area also looks like something pressed down on the fur and scraped it backward or forward and removed a couple of inches of it.

This got me to thinking what the cause could be.  I came up with three possibilities. First, the bobcat could have been hit by a vehicle.  However, I can’t envision how a vehicle could remove the fur in those two areas, let alone not do any other damage.  Second, the bobcat could have been in a fight with another animal such as a bobcat or coyote.  Again, I can’t envision how a bobcat or coyote could cause these fur removals that begin with a straight edge to them and then move rearward on the back and downward (or possibly upward) on the hind leg.  Claws and canine teeth wouldn’t do that.  Third, the bobcat could have gotten caught in a barbed wire fence and lost the fur in its struggle to escape.  I can envision the cat getting caught between two wires, especially if one or two wires had gotten somewhat loose as sometimes happens and, with one or two wires pressing down on its back and rear leg, the wires could have caused fur to be pulled from the bobcat in the process of the bobcat pulling free.  While I don’t know for sure what happened, that seems to me to be the most likely cause.  Hopefully, the bobcat is no longer limping.

 

Bobcat, Tule Elk

Recent Trip to Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a cow elk with with a protruding cheek.
Cow Elk with Protruding Cheek, Point Reyes National Seashore

I drove out to Point Reyes a few days go.  I saw this cow elk on the D Ranch.  I wondered what caused that protrusion of her cheek.  Tumor?  Abscess?  A big wad of cud that would do a baseball player proud?    She seemed normal in other respects.   She has ear tags so she is an old gal.  I think the Park Service last put ear tags on elk in 1999.  That would make her 15 or more.

From what I’ve read lately, elk are a controversial subject among some of the ranchers who don’t want them eating any of the food the cows eat in the ranching areas.  I don’t know the details, but apparently this controversy has caused the Park Service to start preparing a management plan for the pastoral zone.

I also saw a few bobcats and coyotes that day.  Here’s a bobcat that caught a gopher while I was photographing him.

Close-up photo of a bobcat.
Bobcat, Point Reyes National Seashore

Like the elk, he seemed to qualify as a senior citizen. I got a few photos of him with his mouth open and his lower canines seemed pretty worn down.  He was a handsome old guy though.

Photo of a bobcat yawning.
Bobcat with Worn Out Teeth

As you can see, there doesn’t appear to be much of any lower right canine left.  For that matter, I don’t see any incisors on the bottom either.  This photo doesn’t show the complete area where the lower left canine should be because the lower lip is in the way somewhat, but if it were normal I think we’d see at least the top half of it.

Badger, Bobcat, Coyote, Other Bird

A Day at Point Reyes National Seashore

I was out at Point Reyes two days ago.  It was a very good day.  I saw and photographed multiple bobcats and coyotes.

Photo of a bobcat stalking its prey.
Bobcat Stalking Prey

This bobcat was hunting gophers.  Bobcats use their paws to catch gophers in their burrows.  Their mouths are not designed to fit into the narrow space of a gopher burrow.  Their paws are also fairly large in relation to the size of a gopher burrow.  Based on my observations, I would say their batting average is fairly low.

Photo of a coyote at Point Reyes.
Coyote, Point Reyes National Seashore

Coyotes use their mouths to catch rodents in their burrows.  They don’t have sharp, retractable claws and don’t seem disadvantaged in that regard.  That long slender snout seems built for the task.  Based on my observations, they have a much higher batting average than bobcats in catching rodents in the top of their burrows. This coyote was with its mate and another individual.

While I’m always happy to get the opportunity to photograph bobcats and coyotes, what made the day really special was seeing and photographing a peregrine falcon and a badger.  I don’t get many opportunities to photograph either of them.

Photo of a peregrine falcon on a post.
Scanning the Area

I don’t know if this is a female or an immature or both.  Its markings were not as nice as the peregrine I posted here.   However, I’m always happy to photograph a peregrine.

Photo of a badger at Point Reyes.
Badger Wakes Up from Siesta

Badgers are very nocturnal so it’s always a treat to spot one.  The recent rains have created damp, dark soil which stands out when a badger digs up areas where there are good populations of gophers.  I also love the rich greens of the grasses at this time of year.  Everything has been brown this winter until we got some decent rains in the past few weeks.  For those that don’t know, California is suffering from the worst drought in history.

Bobcat, Coyote, Tule Elk

A Day At Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a bobcat.
A Bobcat Daydreams.

I went to Point Reyes a couple of days ago.  It had been a while.  When I arrived I quickly spotted a bobcat.  It was too far to photograph so I waited a bit to see if it would move my way.  It didn’t so I drove on.  I quickly spotted another a short distance past the first one.  See photo above.  He looked like a bobcat I used to see and photograph frequently on another ranch in 2011.  I decided to try to get closer to him.  Just as that thought came to mind a coyote moved into view behind the bobcat.  I focused on the coyote and it was quickly joined by another.  And then another.  That’s right, a pack of coyotes.  I’ve seen three coyotes together several times before at Point Reyes and assume these guys are the ones I’ve seen previously.  Usually, I only see a single coyote.

I wondered whether the bobcat saw them and so pulled my eye away from the camera back to look at him.   He certainly had.   He was doing a fast crawl toward me and my car and his belly was almost touching the ground. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to photograph him as he was already very close to the rear of my car.   I re-focused on the coyotes.

Photo of three coyotes feeding.
Hunting for Food

They were feeding on something in the soil.  I’ve seen this behavior before.  They’re definitely not feeding on rodents.  I think they’re after insects, or maybe worms, and it might be that they’re finding them under cow pies.  I’ll have to start kicking over cow pies and checking them and also checking the soil under them.  Really.  I’m curious.

After photographing these coyotes, mostly as individuals, I headed for Drake’s Bay.  One thing I look for on that trek is elk along the road to Drakes Bay.  Sure enough, a herd of bulls was hanging out not far from the intersection of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and the road down to Drakes Beach.  Two of the dozen or so bulls were in the pasture closest to Sir Francis Drake Blvd.  I wondered how they had gotten into that fenced pasture.  My first thought was they got through a break in the fence.  Then one of them started walking along the fence that separated the two pastures.  I figured the fence may be damaged somewhere along there.  I also wondered if it could jump the fence.  It looked pretty high to me.  See photo below.  It’s looks like it’s a few inches below the bull’s jaw.  I was a little worried because many wild mammals have died trying to cross fences.

Photo of bull elk abut to jump a fence.
Will He Jump?

After a moment or two I decided it wasn’t going to jump soon so I started photographing the others.   As often happens with my luck, it jumped right after I took my eyes off it.  So, I decided to stick with it and watch the other bull to see if it would jump.

A bull elk jumps over a fence.
Up and Over

By sticking with it I was rewarded.  He cleared it no problem.  Like I said though, sometimes they don’t.  I don’t think a deer could clear that. Whenever I see them cross fences they go between the strands of wire.   I’ve noticed at Point Reyes that the fencing seems to vary all over the place in terms of how high the top wire is and how low the bottom wire is.  A good wildlife fence shouldn’t be too high on the top strand or too low on the bottom strand so wildlife can go over or under them.   There are several articles on the internet about constructing livestock fences that are wildlife friendly.  For one such article click here.  As the article points out, top wires should never exceed 42 inches in height and bottom wires should never be lower than 16 inches.  Preferably, the top and bottom wires should be smooth, not barbed.

Tule Elk

Bull Elk in Velvet, Point Reyes National Seashore

hPoto of bull tule elk in velvet
The Life Cycle Continues

I was out at Point Reyes recently.  The male elk are all sporting new antlers covered in velvet.  They’re also still shedding their lighter-colored winter coats.  This bull was in the Tule Elk Preserve.  He was in a group of about 20 bulls.

I didn’t get a clear look at all of them, but three of them, and possibly a fourth, looked like they were suffering from diarrhea.  That made me wonder if they had early-stage Johne’s Disease, which leads to death.  For an earlier discussion of Johne’s Disease at Point Reyes, click here.

Landscape

Point Reyes Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of Ten Mile Beach.
A Portion of Point Reyes Beach, Looking North

Point Reyes Beach begins at the Lighthouse area and runs for 10 miles in a northerly direction.  It is also called Ten Mile Beach (no surprise) and The Great Beach.    A better name might be Caution Beach because it can be a dangerous place.  A number of people have died along this stretch due to sneaker waves.  I believe it has also seen a number of shipwrecks.  I witnessed the crashed remains of one myself roughly 25 years ago.  I spoke to the survivors.  They were starting out on a voyage around the world.   They started from Oregon or Washington, I don’t recall for sure.  They didn’t get far, but the family survived.

Landscape

Tree-Shrouded Entry; North District Operations Center, Point Reyes

This is a photo of the long entry to the North Ranger Station at Point Reyes.
Shady Lane

I drive by this entry road every time I go to Point Reyes National Seashore.  I often think to myself that I should photograph it.  I finally did.  I don’t know exactly what goes on there, but I see Rangers go in and out so I assume the Park Service Rangers have an office there.  There’s no sign saying “Public Welcome,” but then there’s no sign saying “Stay Out” either. Some day I’ll have to go in there and find out more.