Thursday, May 17, 2012

Biking With Bobcats Tonight In River Legacy Park While Looking For Olive The Missing Prairie Dog

River Legacy Bobcat
Tonight I decided to expand the search for Olive the Missing Prairie Dog to River Legacy Park in Arlington.

That and I've decided I don't get enough exercise.

That is not a dog in the picture. That is a River Legacy Park bobcat. It had been a couple years since I've had a bobcat encounter.

My first bobcat encounter was on the River Legacy mountain bike trail. Years ago. It was during a period of time when there were reports of cougar sightings along the Trinity River.

I was pedaling fast, deep in the woods of the mountain bike trail, when suddenly I saw a bobcat. I was sure it was waiting to pounce on me and have me for lunch. I skidded to a stop and had a stare down with the beast. Then I high tailed it out of there, going the wrong way on the one-way trail to hurry to warn the park ranger of the imminent bobcat danger.

When I found a ranger she acted like I was a silly kid getting all excited over nothing. Because, as it turns out, I was.

Politely Posing
I have had many bobcat encounters in the years since my first. I long ago learned if you act nonchalant, so does the bobcat.

When I saw the bobcat tonight, he was walking towards me on the paved trail. I stopped. He kept walking towards me. I got out my camera. Started taking pictures. He did not mind. He was intently studying something up in a tree.

After a couple minutes a pair of bikers came upon our serene scene and the bobcat ran into the bushes. The first biker saw what I was taking pictures of. He did not look too alarmed.

I think I am done with trying to get more exercise for the evening. I will try and be sedentary until morning when I go swimming.

2 comments:

  1. Dang! I have seen very few bobcats--and always in the country, not the city--and have never gotten a photo that good. Stunning critter. Long may he/she live.

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  2. Balaam, I think if you pedal the River Legacy Park trails you are eventually going to have a bobcat encounter. I've had multiple encounters at River Legacy, including one with a very old lady bobcat, whilst I was roller blading, snapping pics as I rolled along behind her. I've seen a pair of bobcats at the side of the paved trail in Quanah Parker Park and one encounter on the Tandy Hills. The Tandy Hills one was running very fast, startling me by crossing the trail right in front of me.

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