Bobcats capture my imagination and represent the essence of the local wild to me. I count myself lucky every time I see one. It's their independence, their elusiveness, their wild beauty, their need to kill to live, that makes the bobcat my favorite local wild species. This portfolio consists of images of different bobcats I encounter on my hikes.

These quotes from Kevin Hansen from his book "Bobcat, Master of Survival", nail it for me regarding the bobcat and why I savor each and every sighting.

"The bobcat has evolved for millions of years to do one thing: kill. That is neither good nor bad; it simply is."

"Lynx rufus moves through a landscape of sights, sounds, and odors that it explores with extended senses so far superior to ours that it creates a reality humans can barely fathom. This is what makes cats appear so otherworldly, so mysterious---and we love a mystery. It drives both the biologist's research and the layperson's imagination."

"We fold the bobcat into our mythology, admire its independence, praise its dignity, and hold it up as a symbol of wildness. We catch its limbs in steel-jawed traps and peel its skin, in the name of commerce. Our schools and sports teams enshrine it as its mascot, a symbol of ferocity, tenacity, and pugnacity."

"We glimpse this feline wraith during a hike in the woods and count ourselves lucky."

"We capture it, inject it with drugs, hang radio transmitters around its neck, and follow it relentlessly, in the name of science. We work for its conservation and we slaughter it by the millions. We curse, venerate, envy, respect, persecute, even worship it."

"Through it all, one thing remains certain: the bobcat will never enter the room, sit down across the table, and negotiate its relationship with us. It is indifferent to our efforts, wishes, or intentions. It is too busy being a bobcat---hunting, killing, eating, sunning on a ledge, feeding its young. The bobcat goes its own way, on its own terms."
- Kevin Hansen.

May the bobcat way endure!

Trish Carney

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