Photo: Cheryl Reynolds
Our intrepid photographer snapped this picture of a young bobcat out at Los Vaqueros reservoir yesterday. She was looking for birds and beavers but you never know what you might find. The bobcat is the most widely distributed cat in all of North America and it gets its name from the appearance of it’s “bobbed” tail. It’s a stealthy, fierce hunter of rabbits and rodents, and can adapt to the demands of just about any terrain.
Since the bobcat is our most common big cat, they are a frequent visitor in native mythology. The Shawnee tell an origin story of how the bobcat got his characteristic spots. Apparently he had successfully cornered a very intelligent rabbit, who convincingly seemed to accept his fate, congratulated bobcat on his prowess, and suggest he start the water boiling so that he could eat him more quickly after the inevitable kill. Bobcat thought this sounded like a great idea and set about laying a fire and getting it going. The wily rabbit leaped into the center of the fire and out again, spraying hot coals all over bobcats fur before making a quick getaway. Thus bobcat was forever left with telltale singe marks on his coat.
A secondary moral in the myth (from the bobcat’s point of view) is “never take advice from your dinner”. Alternatively, from the rabbit’s point of view the lesson is more simple, “Stay calm. Keep talking and give meaningless praise. The man who is proud of his cruelty will believe anything.”
