Circle of life this morning...

[Skychief]

While deer hunting this morning, my fortune could not have been greater. No, I brought no venison to bag, but was witness to something I'd never seen and would have been impossible to see around these parts a few short years ago.

I was being entertained by a young fox squirrel foraging near me. It held my attention as I seldom see fox squirrel deep in the woods, where I happened to be.

He made his way toward me in fairly open woods. At about fifteen yards, it paused to work on a nut. It was to be his last.

In a flash, as I watched, a bobcat materialized out of seemingly thin air, grabbing the luckless squirrel by the back of the neck. Lightning could not have struck it down any quicker.

As my jaw hit the deck, I watched the cat disappear with it into the greenbriars.

As the smoke settled, I was amazed at the stealth the cat mustered to get that close to the squirrel and ME. I hadn't seen nor heard his approach.

And we call ourselves hunters.

Best regards, Skychief.

 

[Boomerang]

That would have been really exciting to watch!

 

[nhmoose]

Great reason to hunt. Killing your own game is NOT the only pleasure. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Better than any TV ever!
Thanks for sharing chief.

B.

 

[appalichian hunter]

A few years ago while deer hunting I observed a large red tail hawk and a grey squirrel go at it. The hawk was about 10 ft. up in a tree and the grey was doing his thing right in front of the blind I was sitting in. Talk about quick and quiet the hawk was like a flash of lighting. A very interesting fight was going on . The most interesting thing was the squirrel departed up a tree and the fight continued with the hawk making multiple attempts to capture his meal. In the end the squirrel finally escaped and made it to a hole in the tree ruffled but safe. So even the hawks miss once in a while.

 

[BrownBear]

As the smoke settled, I was amazed at the stealth the cat mustered to get that close to the squirrel and ME. I hadn't seen nor heard his approach.

I'm a fan of bobcats, for sure. A few years back we had the pleasure of watching a pair den up about a quarter mile from our place in the Rockies. Needed binocs for close views but they were in plain site and we got well acquainted all the way through rearing their litter.

I'm impressed with the stealth of you solo, but it was a pure joy to watch mom and dad hunt together. Dad was larger and lighter, and he'd prance around in plain sight out in the open. Small dark mom meanwhile sneaked along parallel back in the shadows. Virtually a cottontail a day paid the price for watching dad, and they never seemed to learn that mom was quietly coming up behind them.

 

[hanshi]

I saw lots of bobcats back down in Georgia; but I never had the thrill that you had watching the cat finish his hunt. There are so many things to experience hunting in the bush.

 

[BullRunBear]

That is a great story; wish I had one to equal it. One of my favorite fishing writers, O. Warner Smith, wrote mostly in the early 1900s. He always stressed the enjoyment of seeing nature whether you caught anything or not. I haven't hunted in many years but still remember the sunrises, the colors, the scent of a campfire, and the sound of a chipmunk scurrying through the leaves more than any kills I made. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Jeff

 

[Juice Jaws]

Great story, sit still and be quite and there is no telling what might come along. Here is a picture of a bobcat caught on my game cam 3 years ago, he is still around. One of the biggest bobcats I have seen here.

 

[DJH]

It's amazing how stealthy they are. I had one come in behind my turkey set up a few years back. Guess he was looking for a fresh hen. Leaves were dry and I never heard him until he slipped by me a few yards to my left. Very cool to witness.

Jeff H

 

[dlgcrosstimbers]

Wow. That must have been awesome to watch!

Probably 15 years ago a friend of mine was spring turkey hunting. He was sitting with his back to a big oak tree calling a tom. Suddenly from seemingly nowhere a bobcat grabbed his left arm, biting him pretty good. Of course he jumped up, yelled and the bobcat let go and he said was gone in a split second it seemed. He said he never once heard anything approaching him at his setup. The cat's teeth sunk pretty deep in his arm and he went to the doctor for a couple stitches. They made him go through a series of rabies shots too, which he said was worse than the bobcat bites.

 

[Patocazador]

Many years ago I was hunting through a swamp and spotted a motionless bobcat laying on a log across a beaver run. He had one paw out like a baseball catcher. I thought that he was waiting for a catfish or mudfish (bowfin) to swim under where he could hook it with his claws. He never got his fish because I ended his fishing trip. I had him mounted on a driftwood 'log' still ready to catch his fish.

 

[Spikebuck]

That's what really makes hunting special! I usually see more of that kind of stuff in Bow season than gun though.

 

[gds260]

Great story. It is always amazing to see things happen real time.

 

[S.Kenton]

Such a cool story! Stuff like that is what keeps me in the woods... It's not always about the hunt, sometimes it's about the experience of just witnessing nature in action. Such is why I enjoy hunting, not the Ol' joe pushes a woods with his buddies while drinking a cold one, while his other buddies are waiting on the other side for the unsuspecting deer to run out, type of hunting. Rather I enjoy sitting and observing the woods or still hunting with my bow, BP rifle or shotgun. I do Beleive we learn more this way.

 

[Dave Marsh]

A couple of years ago we had redhawks build a nest in one of the white pines in our yard. We sat on the front porch quite a bit to watch them. One afternoon we were sitting and looking when in flew one of them with a great big gray squirrel in its talons. As would be expected the squirrel was trying to escape. As the redhawk was about to land in the nest the squirrel got free and fell to the ground. That was about an 80 foot tree. That squirrel hit the ground and took of like the proverbial bat out of h__l and got away. No camera of course. That was pretty exciting and watching the young ones start flying was a thrill as well.

Dave

 

[renegadehunter]

Wow, pretty cool to see something like that!
Several years ago while archery hunting I was sitting on a low to the ground stump at the edge of a clear cut. It was just after daylight and the elk weren't being vocal yet, so I was just hoping something would come by. I had my feet out in front of me and was watching two pine squirrels chase each other around about 50 yards below me. Pretty soon they came running up towards me and the first one ran right by so close I could've reached out and touched it. The second one ended up jumping onto my boot, then my knee, then my shoulder and off behind me to continue after the first one. Made me grin like a fool. These types of things are why I love being out hunting and watching nature.

 

[Brent]

A few years ago while deer hunting I observed a large red tail hawk and a grey squirrel go at it. The hawk was about 10 ft. up in a tree and the grey was doing his thing right in front of the blind I was sitting in. Talk about quick and quiet the hawk was like a flash of lighting. A very interesting fight was going on . The most interesting thing was the squirrel departed up a tree and the fight continued with the hawk making multiple attempts to capture his meal. In the end the squirrel finally escaped and made it to a hole in the tree ruffled but safe. So even the hawks miss once in a while.

This reminds me of this video (not mine)

 

[Boomer]

Great story! I have only ever caught glimpses of Bobcats as they are slipping away. They always manage to see me before I see them!