Black Bobcat!

I photographed the the normal colored bobcat sitting on a tree branch at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. It displays the tree climbing behavior these animals do. The amazing Black Bobcat in the other pictures approached me near a forrest area as I was eating lunch so I was able to get those photos. According to a study done by the Canadian Museum there have only been about 20 sightings of these carnivores in Canada and America. So I consider myself VERY lucky!

I never go to a restaurant for lunch. I bring a homemade sandwich with me and dine in my car in various places close to forests, swamps, and things. Why? Because you never know when some amazing creature will show up. If you love wildlife as much as I do, you keep your camera ready at all times. And this wonderful circumstance occurred to me at Fort Lewis, WA. Over and over there I’ve seen deer, elk, coyotes, rabbits, otters, beavers, all kinds of birds and reptiles. But as I was sitting in my truck munching on my sandwich last week a very unusual looking animal some distance away began approaching me. From the distance as I first saw it, the animal looked like a very small black bear. So of course, I grabbed my camera and began taking shots. Before I even looked at my pictures, however, the thing got close enough for me to realize that it was a bobcat. But I had never seen one so large and distinctly colored. I estimated its weight at 40 pounds or more. Even more astounding was the pure black fur coat it displayed. Something else I’d never seen before. These cats are normally brown or reddish brown and tend to be nocturnal, but day time sightings are not unusual. This black variation, however, also known as the Melanistic Bobcat, is quite rare. Like the “normal” colored bobcat the melanistic variety eats rodents and rabbits, and is also reported to attack deer. Considering the size of this cat I believe this is true.