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Morbidly obese squirrel

calebEOC wrote:Morbidly obese squirrel

He's just REAL healthy

I went for a walk at lunch today. I turned a bend and saw three deer (does) resting in the shade by the trail. I was hot and sweaty and wished I could have jointed them, not go back to work.

Another lunch time walk. Today we say a bobcat. It must have been a male because it was quite large.

Lisa, though I saw a Spanish Linx (our bobcat) in Doñana NP many years ago, they are very difficult to find here. Don't you take a camera when walking in the countryside

xDoogiex wrote:What's the difference between a marten, fisher, and a mink? When I started trekking down Mt.Marcy I saw something in the trees and it kept growling at me. Everytime I put the camera to my face it would hide behind a tree and jump to another branch and do it again. Never got that photo. Somewhere around 5000ft up.

Back in the 1970s, it was a lot more common to see pine martens than fishers. They would raid leantos at night; I had one going after my pack off and on for several hours in 1974.

Fishers are typically a lot larger, and have gotten more common of late. They are nasty creatures.

Both will make angry noises at you, though I think the marten is more likely to hiss, and is more used to people; reportedly, martens even frequent the trails and will beg for food now.

Diego Sahagún wrote:Lisa, though I saw a Spanish Linx (our bobcat) in Doñana NP many years ago, they are very difficult to find here. Don't you take a camera when walking in the countryside

Diego,

I work at a university and am walking on the campus, during my lunch hour. There is a lot of open space as the upper part of campus is a nature preserve and the campus is flanked by several state parks and a city park. Lots of trails. I should carry a camera, but am not organized enough. One more thing to remember when I get ready for work.

I've seen bobcats fairly often in the area; they are pretty common. My friend told me a story today about going for a quick walk at one of the state parks, Wilder Ranch. She said she saw a bobcat sitting on the edge of the parking lot. It didn't seemed alarmed by her presence, so she followed it for a while when it wandered off. It was investigating all of the gopher holes, etc.

Chamois, marmots, various kinds of deer, elk (European for moose), reindeer, otters, wild boars, foxes, martens, weasels, ermines (stoats), mink, hares, eagles, falcons, hawks, ravens, choughs, ptarmigan, cranes, herons, storks, a few species of grouse, vipers, tortoises, snakes, lizards, bats, a northern birch mouse, fire salamanders, and several more.

'Dean' said this little guy was out late eating chocolate-covered ants.

lisae wrote:

Diego Sahagún wrote:Lisa, though I saw a Spanish Linx (our bobcat) in Doñana NP many years ago, they are very difficult to find here. Don't you take a camera when walking in the countryside

Diego,

I work at a university and am walking on the campus, during my lunch hour. There is a lot of open space as the upper part of campus is a nature preserve and the campus is flanked by several state parks and a city park. Lots of trails. I should carry a camera, but am not organized enough. One more thing to remember when I get ready for work.

I've seen bobcats fairly often in the area; they are pretty common. My friend told me a story today about going for a quick walk at one of the state parks, Wilder Ranch. She said she saw a bobcat sitting on the edge of the parking lot. It didn't seemed alarmed by her presence, so she followed it for a while when it wandered off. It was investigating all of the gopher holes, etc.

The only place that I've seen a bobcat in the wild was not far from UCSC (Henry Cowell State Park). I used to run there in the early morning and would see one along one of the creeks every now and then.

lcarreau wrote:

He is kinda cute!

mconnell wrote:[

The only place that I've seen a bobcat in the wild was not far from UCSC (Henry Cowell State Park). I used to run there in the early morning and would see one along one of the creeks every now and then.

Nice!

I wonder if bobcats are becoming more common in the Central Coast. I see them fairly regularly, near and on the UCSC campus. I've also seen several while at the Pinnacles. One day we were driving out on the east side. A bobcat crossed the road in front of us, paused before going up hill and stared at us. He went up the hill a bit and stopped again to look at us. My camera was in my pack so I didn't have time to take his picture, but it seemed like he was giving us the opportunity.

I haven't seen a mountain lion yet, but I know there are several on campus. One of my friends, who works for the arboretum, has found partially consumed deer carcases in the area. And there are a lot of deer. Especially now - I think some were displaced by the Lockheed fire.

Lisa & mconnell, here it's so difficult to see our bobcat in the countryside. Even it's most common seen in reserves as Doñana NP and some areas of Sierra Morena. It's unthinkable to find it in a campus and very difficult out of NPs and very protected enclosure areas. Now there are less than 300 individuals of Iberian Lynx in Spain.

Lisa, take the camera with you

Who needs to go hiking? This guy was waiting on my porch when I arrived home the other evevning.