I had a GREAT experience y’day .
I was told there is a Bob Cat in this area- in the bush , so I started to virtually ‘stalk it ‘ – -knowing how animals will stay hidden and watch .
I noted its paw marks in the mud, after a rain, and followed it around the bush .
All the while, I had ‘this feeling of being watched ‘ !
I did this a few times, during the past one month I have been staying here at this place called Sky Ranch Lodge- Sedona ( for those who like google – go for it ! )
Y’day was a bad ‘snow day ‘ here, and I did not want to venture down the hill , so stayed around the property .
The Sedona Airport is the next lot- so I walked around it, and did some bird watching- lovely Western Blue Birds all over the place .
I was actually looking for Meadow Larks- but, found t he Blue Birds instead , and few other species .
Anyway- I walked into the bush – no luck with my Bob Cat .
I returned to the Sky Ranch private guest Viewing Area- a lovely area where weddings etc are held, with the gorgeous view of the Red Rocks of Sedona .
I was looking for the bird – Spotted Towhee – when something moving in the bush caught my eye –
You guessed it – My Friend Mr Bobby Cat !!
It made ‘eye contact ‘with me – all the while walking on the ground below, against the fence .
I whipped out the camera and took a few shots .
It was just PURE magic for me to see this little cat- making such a powerful eye contact with me , as if to say “ I know you , I have seen you, how are you ‘ !!
Then it retreated into the bush , and I followed it into the bush .
I knew it was watching me – as I walked through the bush, came out at the Sedona Airport Bush area , and back to Sky Ranch Viewing Area .
I showed the pics to a few guests who had gathered to see the famous Sedona Red Rock Sunset .
Today, I talked to one of the garden crew- who told me, “ tell your friend Mr Bobby Cat- not to eat the Koy in the pond at Sky Ranch ‘ !!
I will send the pics in the next mail- as I am having some difficult issues with my lap top with pic+ text in the same e-mail .
My son will sort it out .
So, for now- it will an e-mail with text with another mail with only pics .
Fortunately, I was alone in the Viewing Area- where normally there are at least half a dozen people .
Because y’day was a very cold day, people stayed indoors .
It is a fabulous sunset now- so I gotta get out !
Enjoy the Bobby Cat Tale from Sky Ranch Lodge- Sedona .
eagleD
News, Views and More from Batch'64, Faculty of Medicine, Colombo, SriLanka 
Sent from my iPad
Dear Deepthie
Thanks a lot
Thanks for the information about bob cats. I know nothing about bob cats. With the help of google I was able to gatherr some info which I would like to share with you.
You are very fortunate to have seen one, and to get a “wow “image of it, as they are hard to view due to there elusive nature and are cautious around humans.
Another interesting word I learnt, is that bob cats hardly vocalise, they only” YOWL” and hiss during the mating season and the sound is similar to a child crying, a woman screaming or a screech ing of some one in pain
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Thanks Rani for your comments and really, it was YOUR idea that I should send it to Sam for the Web, as the rest of the Class of 64 may like to see this .
Thank you Sam, for putting it on the post .
I know, there are Bob Cats out where you live too, and Kathy told me, she has seen one just ambling across the road , one day , as she was driving .
Yes- they are very shy creatures and this really is the second time I have had an encounter with a Bob Cat .
The previous one was in 2016– Feb 19th — when after a long and very hot return hike, around noon, I went down into this creek, off the beaten track, sat on a rock, put my hot and tired feet in the water, sandals and all, camera by my side and the lunch box on my lap .
I have been to this area before many times , so I was familiar with the terrain .
Then, — I saw a shadowy movement across the little creek- on top of the rocky outcrop- and there it was — Bob Cat- just staring at me — or may be staring at my lunch box !!
it may have been just 20 ft from me .
I was stunned to say the least and , after I got over the shock of it, I grabbed the camera and took a few pics as it slowly and silently retreated in the bush climbing the rocky outcrop, all the while, turning around to look at me , just like it happened on Wednesday evening .
I have been to this area many , many times since, the most recent- just 2 wks ago– NO luck .
But, The Spirit of The Cat haunts me still … and I left some ” Spirit Food ” from my lunch box, on the ground for my friend, this time around …..
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Dear Deepthi,
I got the photos you sent me direct to my E-Mail. They are great & Outstanding. Don’t get too close, even they are charming, could be nasty too.
WIMAL.
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HI Wimal !
Yes, I did send out some photos etc to a few , including you, Rani , Sam and a few others .
I remember you telling me, your neighbor called you to ‘ look out the window in to your back yard ” — and you saw mom and few cubs, just in your back yard , a few yrs ago-
I was hoping I would see one while I was at your place, in Marco Island, or at Sam’s in Sarasota — but no luck .
I had to wait till I got back to Sedona to see one again .
One can get lucky to see them, at dawn and dusk .– up to 2 hrs after sunrise and 2 hrs before sunset .
But, the one I saw 2 yrs ago- was at High Noon — so, this blows this theory of dawn and dusk sightings .
They are nocturnal hunters- of small critters- rabbits, mice, voles, chickens even young sheep, goat and deer fawn .
The farmers hate them, and many are killed .
However, in Southern USA/ Canada there are many thousands ++ of them, despite the relentless Sport Hunting and killing by farmers .
I had two rabbits and two deer fawns just out side my back deck area a few wks ago, here at Sky Ranch Lodge,but, I have not seen them in a while .
Perhaps — the Bob Cat got them .
Urban sprawl — is a major threat to their survival — but, such is life , even though they have survived and flourished for thousands of years before Mr and Mrs Two Legs arrived on the scene and I bet, they will live, long after we all hit the dust !
However, I had the Best of Luck– thanks to you and Iranthie , with my little Burrowing Owls friends – -and I hope you talk to my Little Owl Friends , every time you pass by ACE Hardware !
Yes- I will take your advice – and stay away from them- this is a bit hard for me, as I just LOVE this Elusive Creature of Nature . !
Thanks Wimal and Iranthie- for the wonderful time I had in Marco Island with both of you !
eagleD
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Deepthie, You do spend a lot of time exploring nature.! Thanks for the pics.We do not have them in NZ and I have never seen one.They must be similar to the “Pole cats” of Sri Lanka, but certainly bigger.
They are called BoB cats because of their short stumpy “bobbed” tails.They feature a lot in native Indian mythology.Their ears reminds one of the Lynx.Enjoy your stay in Sedona.
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Hi Eddie ,
Bob Cats and Lynx are in the same Genus- Lynx .
Yes- Bob Cat is called Bob Cat- due to its tail that looks as if it is cut ‘ bobbed ” .
Lynx and Bob Cat are similar medium sized wild cats
Ears — are similar in both, but the difference being the Lynx has hairs sticking out of its ears — there are nice pics of this on google .
Lynx-habitat- is different — in that it lives in areas of deep snow, in more northern areas and have specially adapted paws for this like snow shoes .
Bob Cat prefer not so deep snow- hence lives in US/ Southern Canada .
Lynx and Bob Cat- do feature in a lot of Native Mythology- due it its exceptional visual ability ” they see beyond into the future ” ie they see what we cannot see .
I must look up ‘ Animal Speaks ‘ book info on google for the mythology of the Lynx genus .
Pole Cats of SL- I have never really seen one — only heard them making a ruckus at night – wailing away , and my father would go out and chase them away , as it really scared us kids .
Yes I do explore Nature- as I have nothing else to do , ( !! ) and enjoy being outdoors ..
glad you liked the pics .
Send us some nice stuff from Kiwiland !
eagleD
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Deepthie
Enjoyed your experience with mother nature. beautifully described as usual. I also loved the comments from the others. Enjoy your stay in Sedona.
Rajes.
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Thanks Rajes !
yes- it was a wonderful experience seeing this very elusive creature of nature, just 100 yards from my back door!
I hope I see it again .
By the way , I saw the rabbit on the property y’day evening as I was taking a walk around the grounds and in the bush behind .
Lots of Blue Birds around here and I am really enjoying seeing them , scrambling for the last meal, before the sun goes down .
I hope the Spring weather in Toronto stays- after all this is March , and I hope it does not come in Like a Lion !
keep well- eagleD
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Dear Deepthi. Thanks very much for sending pictures of the Bob cat. They are nice pictures.This is the first time I heard of them. Also Rani’s and Eddie’s comments added to my knowledge.
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Thank you Swarna ,
I hope you enjoyed your birthday a 2 days ago– !!
Bob Cats/ Lynx – are present all over the world – this is a real Old World Creature of Legends and Myths- going back to the Indigenous, Greek , Norse Mythology and among the Ancient People over at your place, in the Br Isles .
Good thing we have Rani and Eddie that pass on few bits of knowledge– they are both encyclopedias that do the Google thing and tell us all !
Keep well- see you in Beruwala 2018- oct .
eagleD
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My dear Deepthie,
This is a huge fellow, pardon my ignorance, is it a jungle cat?
Looks ferocious, must be scary in its own surrounding to meet
Adaptation to one’s niche is the principle of everything thriving
Survived product, the fittest of billions of years genes transferring
Every time I look at nature pictures you send and describe
Become envious of your merge with nature and care free life
A journey without a target or a timetable is my definition of living
Events of each moment may be pointing to a world, hither to unknown
You have become a proper conessour of fauna and flora
Through your camera I see creatures unseen or un heard
It is a great service you do to guys like myself, in educating
And showing the beauty of the world, you love and live roaming
Is Bob Cat, a special species related to the domestic counterparts?
Cats I see here in spoiled over consuming society are sick and obese
The majestic look of the fellow, well healed, depicted reminds me of Phys.
Professor Koch, describing perfectly built, ‘seventy kilo’ healthy masculines
Ariya
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Thanks Ariya !
You sure have a way of describing my little nature adventure with the bob cat !
This cat- is a small cat – a bit bigger than a domestic cat, not the over fed obese domestic cats you describe ( !! ) smaller than a big dog eg Golden Retriever , and yet a wild cat – very elusive and shy of people .
And, it is miracle that I had not one, but two encounters , when I was alone, here in Sedona .
Read the reply I wrote to Rani .
Bob Cats- are well adapted to their ever changing environment , despite the relentless urban sprawl .
Already, they are in people’s back yards here in Arizona and other parts of USA , and in some areas of Southern Canada , and in British Columbia, where the climate is milder .
This particular Bob Cat- will soon lose it little niche- as there are plans to expand the Lodge and add more rooms, using up the 4 acre bush area behind , that has been its home for a few good years .
This is a great shame- as humans LOVE to Destroy- What They Love -ie Nature !
As for my own life- it has no time table or target – only that this year I have a Time Table and a Target— Beruwala RU- Oct 2018 !
As for 2019 ?? who knows what lies ahead so , I Make Hay While the Sun Shines, till my money runs out- which is very soooon !!
Till then- I Live, come what may , with NO Timetable or Target !
eagleD
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Now Deepthie has eloquently described to habitats cats’s adaptation
Nature favours survival and progeny of the fittest in any species or clan
We are students of your class Deepthie on millieu, adaptation & survival
I shall chip in with my two cents worth, about a cat’s reproductive turmoil
Has anyone wondered why at odd hours in the night cats make painful cries
Nature has made a trick for feline progeny to be fathered by the strongest
The priced Tom cat has the sharperst most ‘thornes’ in his powerful penis
Cats do ovulate after intercourse previous sperms stripped off by the sharpest
So penile teeth stripping vagjnal mucosa cannot be a pleasant act
Yet nature dictates the offspring to be a product of the strongest
Imagine a Molley cat in heat goes throgh half a dozen sex acts a night
What a cruel dilemma that is the way nature favours survival of the fittest
Ariya
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Hey Ariya ,
It may by’ Molly ‘ howling at night !
Read through Rani’s comment on the ‘ Yowl Howl ‘ of the Bob Cat during mating season — this may the answer .
eagleD
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hello Deepthie,
I am glad you liked your Marco Island segment of your Florida Trip. You got to see your Burrowing Owls & a lot of birds & wild Life. We did take our ONLY grand Son to your “Owl Spot” near Ace Hardware & the two were there!!. We talked to them & showed them to our Grand Son. Mission Accomplished!!.
Take care ,Dear.
WIMAL & IRANTHIE.
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Thank you Wiimal and Iranthie !
Yes- Mission Accomplished and now we have new visitor to the Owl Nest — your grandson – a potential Bird Watcher I hope !
Next time you pass by the Burrowing Owl Nest Spot – give the little owls my good wishes and I dont think both of you will ever pass by the site, without thinking of my most wonderful visit to Marco Island .
I still reel at the way we saw the Roseate Spoonbills at the Everglades — we just lucked out for sure .
Thanks again- Wimal and Iranthie .
eaglebirdlover !
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