http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=2389855900716&set=a.1504373924220.2071050.1080409750&type=1&theater


We saw this guy last week between Vernal and Nevada Falls. Are these common to see???



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2011 06:39AM by madmxe.

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madmxe
Are these common to see???

I've only seen a few in my life. Certainly not as common as bears in Valley campgrounds.

Wow! That is VERY cool. In your FB comments, you mentioned you used a 400mm lens to get the shot but how far away did that place you? He (she?) looks very comfortable just sitting there so I assume you kept a pretty significant distance but, close or not, it's a really terrific photo in general and it's a fabulous encounter for you to have had...I'm quite jealous!

David I was about 60 feet away I would guess. The 400 was in my backpack and my wife quietly got it out thru the side pocket and handed it to me.
This bobcat was not too worried about us though. I took about 10 pictures.

I've seen bobcats up in the Lake Arrowhead area, they are usually very skittish, they always turn tail and run when they see me. can't see the shot right now due to work filters, will check it out when I get home.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2011 11:39AM by hotrod4x5.

Not common to see in the backcountry... but obviously there are quite a few sightings in and around the valley.
Cats by nature are very elusive. I personally have only seen one on Aspen Valley Road
and another on Old Big Oak Flat Road. Have yet to see a Mountain Lion... but they're out there.
You'll see a lot more Coyotes around this time of year too. At least that is my experience.

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Forgots...

Of course I love your putty tat faux toe. (I'm a cat bird)

Here's two of the putty tat on OBOFR (the one I have from Aspen is REALLY terrible) (he boogied as soon as he saw me):
https://picasaweb.google.com/103089501068510688008/CraneCreek#5573998608256086626
and
https://picasaweb.google.com/103089501068510688008/CraneCreek#5573572741016340866

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chick-on
Have yet to see a Mountain Lion...

I've seen one in the wild only once. But there are plenty of tracks after a rain on the trail I use for conditioning around here.

Anyone driving through Joshua Tree, CA can stop at the Crossroads Cafe and see one:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/CIw0-GcgO0bnCe9y1tFnUA?select=FhlNj-kl3KfzrlaQY5c-_Q

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The cure for a fallacious argument is a better argument, not the suppression of ideas.
-- Carl Sagan

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Frank Furter
Anyone driving through Joshua Tree, CA can stop at the Crossroads Cafe and see one:
http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/CIw0-GcgO0bnCe9y1tFnUA?select=FhlNj-kl3KfzrlaQY5c-_Q

Gee, I missed that last week. But the oasis was nice:


http://yosemitephotos.net/main.php/v/trails/ryan/sh-dsc_2798.jpg.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2011 07:36PM by eeek.

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chick-on

Not common to see in the backcountry... but obviously there are quite a few sightings in and around the valley.
Cats by nature are very elusive. I personally have only seen one on Aspen Valley Road
and another on Old Big Oak Flat Road. Have yet to see a Mountain Lion... but they're out there.

The only time I saw a wild mountain lion was in February of (I think) 2003 in Yosemite on Old Big Oak Flat Road less than a mile from Northside Drive. It was a February with almost no snow on the Valley floor. I came upon her just after I had crossed over some deadfall at a slight bend on the road. There she was about 30 yards away up the road. Of all things she was perpendicular to the road, grazing on some long dry grass on the side of the road near some bushes and shrubs.

At first glance, I thought I had come across a young fawn because her head was down in the grass like how a deer would graze. But then she popped up her head and it was definitely a head of a feline and not a deer (nor a coyote). I carefully studied her, staying motionless and silent. She had a very long tail, so I knew I came across a mountain lion and not any sort of supersized bobcat. It was a pretty scrawny mountain lion that was not quite fully grown. Funny thing, she never once turned her head toward me. Instead, when she was done grazing on the dry grass she continued up Old Big Oak Flat Road and out of my sight after she had gone past another slight bend on the road.

At that time since I was alone, I thought it would be best to turn back and head back down the road to Northside Drive, so I did.

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Posted this before in another thread... can't find it though...

On way to the "other" Eagle Peak (N of El Portal):


Thinking more... have seen a Mountain Lion at Coe... on a adjoining ridgeline..
and also ran across a fairly fresh pig kill which I assumed to be done by a Lion.
(I do have a picture of that...)

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I shot this on my second trip to Yosemite in 2011

We have seen bobcats on several occasions in Yosemite. One on the trail behind the Chapel,one near the restroom at the Vernal Bridge and several times over the years near the Ahwahnee Cottages. As for mountain lions we have not actually seen one but about 5 years ago, we stopped to have a snack on the rocks near the trail by the Ahwahnee and two women came up to us and asked if we knew that a mountain lion had crossed the rocks about 10 feet in back of us. We never even heard it.

Captured this photo of a bobcat up close, jumping off a log close to the patio window of my first floor lodge room at the Yosemite Lodge (Hemlock building) when I stayed there this past February. (It had walked past my window first and perched itself on the log, before turning around and heading back from where it came from:

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Leave No Trace

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plawrence
Captured this photo of a bobcat up close, jumping off a log close to the patio window of my first floor lodge room at the Yosemite Lodge (Hemlock building) when I stayed there this past February. (It had walked past my window first and perched itself on the log, before turning around and heading back from where it came from:

Great Shot!

I thought it's pretty common to see bobcats around Yosemite as I came across this one during my first trip to Yosemite. This was around upper falls on the way back from El Cap hike. Saw some hiker following it around for quite some distance. I initially tried to keep my eye on him and didn't want to dissuade him, in case it disturbs the cat.

From what I've seen, the bobcats in, or near, Yosemite ignore people for the most part. I was by the Shay steam engine in El Portal with a group of about 10 people. The cat calmly walked across the street about 15 feet from the group - which started following him - and he went into the shade under the turnaround, curled up, and took a nap.

Wow, you're really lucky! It seems the photo was not planned, but it turned out perfectly!