NATURE’S CORNER
In Peter Matthiessen’s 1978 spiritual narrative ‘The Snow Leopard’ Matthiessen and biologist George Schaller hiked deep into the Himalayas to study the bharal or Himalayan blue sheep. Along their journey they also searched for the elusive snow leopard. Like Matthiessen I’m on a mission to see a wild cat. A few winters ago my next-door neighbor spied a bobcat in his backyard and this winter I’ve heard of four sightings (one on the Legacy Trail one in Ponderosa Palisades and two in Ponderosa Ranchos). But to be certain what I see is indeed a bobcat (Lynx rufus also known as wildcat) which roams the Sierra foothills but also prowls at higher elevations I need to know some defining characteristics. First and foremost the bobcat is the smallest of our native cats standing approximately 15 inches to 2 feet tall and weighing a mere 12 to 30 pounds (depending on female vs. male). Another native cat in our area the mountain lion (though more common in the foothills and upper foothills) at 80 to 100 pounds is much larger. The bobcat’s coat is one of the reasons I’d love to spy this majestic creature — its golden-brown fur which turns gray in the winter is speckled with black spots while its underside is a contrast of white. Its renowned ear tufts — black at the tips and base — are a sure bobcat clue as is a white patch centered on the back of each ear. The long cheek fur called a ruff resembles a well-manicured short beard much like side chops. Of course the most famous trait for which the bobcat is named is its ‘bobbed’ tail only 4 to 7 inches long. By contrast the mountain lion’s tail stretches to the ground with the tip of the tail curling upward.
Matthiessen never did see the snow leopard during his trip with Schaller just as I have never seen the bobcat. But maybe one day its four-toed clawless tracks (the claws are retracted when the animals aren’t hunting climbing trees or defending themselves) the back of the pad indented into three lobes will lead me to the mysterious cat. Maybe someday the furtive feline will stand frozen in its stride staring at me as I stare back at it.
~ Do you have a question about our region’s natural world? Email mountainlife@moonshineink.com.
