I always love seeing
bobcats while I am out working. I like seeing them more than any other
carnivore out there..although I would love to see a mountain lion
someday, but from a safe distance. I have had several up close encounters
with bobcats over the years and I always feel excited and exhilarated after
each one. They are such gorgeous animals. I recently had a close
encounter with one while walking a trail I use often to get to my study
area. Just as I was stepping foot onto the trail, I see a young,
skinny, rusty colored bobcat right in front of me. It did not see
me so I froze in place so I would not scare it. It walked along the trail
smelling the ground and then sat down. It looked at me, and tried moving
its head a bit to focus on me to figure out what I was since I stood completely
still. I moved a little and it figured out I was alive and got back up
and walked a little more along the trail, still sniffing, not being very
concerned that I was there, but looked me right in the eyes. It wagged
its tail when we made eye contact. Usually you are not supposed to make
eye contact, but I could not help looking into that wild face. We held
gazes for several seconds and then it looked away, sniffed the ground and
looked at me again making eye contact, and once again wagged its tail until we
lost eye contact. It finally slowly walked into the bushes and down a slope
away from me. I only managed a photo with my old flip cellphone which did
not allow me to zoom in. I could not manage to get my real camera out of
my pack since all the movement and noise would have surely scared it away.
I love to think that these
wild animals are out there…secretive and not seen by many and not affected by
people in their everyday lives. Recently, I have learned
differently. I have attended a couple mountain lion talks about studies
being done in California and have found that although these animals don’t come
into contact with people often, they are greatly affected by us by the poisons
we put into the ecosystem.
Basically the studies
showed that most of the carnivores: bobcats, coyotes, fisher, mountain lions,
etc. (and ALL of the mountain lions trapped and tested) in California tested
positive for anticoagulant rodenticide. This is a poison commonly used for
rats, squirrels, etc. that causes the animal to “bleed out” since it keeps the
blood from clotting. It is a slow, painful death. Even animals in
remote parts of the state that are not near any sort of civilization (fishers
living in old growth forests) tested positive! Testing was done in
the Central Valley where it was suspected most of the rodenticide found in
animals would be the result of the poisons put out to protect local
farms/agriculture. All results from areas tested showed that the poisons
in these animals system MAINLY came from HOUSEHOLD use (d-con rat poison,
etc.)
I urge people to stop and
think before putting poisons into the environment as usually the intended
victim is not always the one ingesting the poison. Birds of prey (hawks,
eagles, owls, etc.) are also affected as they may feed on small mammals (rats,
mice, squirrel, gophers, etc.) that have been poisoned. If you are
dealing with rodents in or around your home, the best solution is to do some
habitat modification or trapping. Poison should ONLY be used as a LAST
resort and the type used should be researched.
Most toxic chemicals with
long lasting effects include:
Brodifacoum
Bromadiolone
Difethialone
Less toxic choices
include:
Chlorophacinone
Diphacinone
Warfarin
Cholecalciferol
Bromethalin
More information about
wildlife and poison can be found here:
