Too Much Bobcat

In LA, there is a saying - "You can never be too rich or too thin". You may however find yourself with too many bobcat videos. The following is about half the footage from this spot, but is still two minutes long:



This camera was in the Verdugo Mountains, a small ripple of earthquake fault just minutes from Burbank and Glendale; heavily used and enjoyed by city folk who only have an hour or two on the weekends to get out for some fresh air and exercise. Though rare, there has been the occasional mountain lion sighting here from time to time. Matt and I found a path that had been cleared by firefighters practicing their skills making firebreaks, which had many scrapes along it. Too small to be a cougar, but it was obviously some critter's daily commute. The cam was out barely two weeks, and captured 30 videos of these two bobcats. Look closely, and you will be able to tell them apart - one large adult, and a smaller juvenile (or female?). Their spot patterns are different, (the adult has muted spots, while the younger animal almost has rosettes) as are the stripes on the insides of their legs.

And anyone who has a pet cat will not be surprised at the scraping behavior (you can see it every day at the litterbox) but it shows that little has changed from your pet's wild ancestors. Watching this in action will also make it very easy to identify a scrape that you find on a trail - two strongly dug parallel lines, with a pile of dirt and leaves (and sometimes a little something extra...) at one end.

Thanks again to Matt who not only helped pick the spot, but waded through this wild litterbox to retrieve the cam while I was at work!

Read 'em and weep, hunters

I am completely striking out on predators lately. There's going to be a lag while I find some new good spots. But they say, to find the lions, you just follow the deer - and man, have I found them! Mule deer are not usually the most interesting catch, unless you're a hunter, but it was interesting to me to figure out how many individuals there were in this bunch, by comparing their antlers. Seems like at least four different big bucks. Notice that one of them has broken one side of his rack.



And another short clip from a different location. These were taken way back in August.

Ringtail

This is pretty cool. I had a tip from a friend that there might be a ringtail living in this particular canyon. This is a nocturnal animal, related somewhat to raccoons, that is very rarely seen. They aren't endangered, and are found throughout the southwest, but a combination of their habits and preferred habitat keep them out of sight of people. They are extremely agile, good jumpers, and eat just about anything - including insects, mice, and berries. Legend has it miners used to keep them around to rid their cabins of rodents, giving them the nickname "miner's cat". In size, they are smaller than a fox, and larger than a squirrel. This one seems to like the small pool of water at the base of a cascade in this narrow, sheltered canyon.

Friends in high places

Way back in July, I hiked with a couple of friends along Pleasant View Ridge and placed this camera. It was the most remote location I've put a cam so far. I wanted to see if there was a difference in number or types of animals in a place few people ever go. Then came the fire, which looked like it would wipe out the whole mountain range, then the forest closure, then...oh crap, the forest is open, but how am I supposed to get way back up there now? Lucky for me, I know someone who has free time and likes this kind of challenge. He took a cross country ridge route to get this camera back, when it looked like the newer Sheep Fire might finish the job the Station Fire had started.

And as for the experiment - lots of deer, and this bear and her cub, but no other animals. It's pretty quiet up there. And I'm sure they like it that way.

One camera back, four more to go....

I got the news that the forest closure had been partially lifted yesterday afternoon, and had my bag packed for camera retrieval before you could say "obsessive compulsive much?". Now, the "open" area of forest is not very big, and it also turns out that it's open to hiking....but not necessarily driving on the roads that go to the trailheads. Classic. So instead of grabbing two cameras, which are in easy reach of a parking lot, I hiked from the desert, up into the mountains, a little over 9 miles RT, and got this one. One is better than none, and this camera will now go somewhere close by and accessible.

These bear cubs were seen back in July by long distance runner and photographer Gary Valle. I was happy to let him know they are healthy and growing, and their habitat is still full of manzanita berries, acorns, fresh water, and pretty much everything else bear cubs need.

Other wildlife included a bobcat, a gray fox with the longest tail I've ever seen, and mule deer.

Coming soon to a Cougarmagic near you

A new trail camera, which records video with sound! Coming out this fall, these will make a nice replacement for any cameras I've lost.

http://www.trailcamproblog.com/

The Station Fire

The habitat of nearly all the animals I've photographed has been affected by the fire. I still have cameras in the San Gabriels, and I don't know when I'll be able to get back to them (or if they will still function when I do). I've had some very difficult days, but I still love the San Gabriels and the wildlife that calls it home, and I look forward to witnessing the recovery of this special place. It will come. Thank you for sharing these discoveries with me we can all look forward to many more.