Wildlife Sunday

Yesterday, a few of you asked why there are so many elk hooves in our forest. The reason is that mountain lion prey on elk (and deer). They eat all the meat and organs, and they leave behind fur, bones, and hooves.

This is from a trail camera near where Shyla finds elk hooves. This lion just had a huge meal.

This photo is from the same camera. This is a hulking bull elk but mountain lions can kill elk that are this large by sneaking up on them and pouncing.

You might remember the huge antler that Shyla found in June. It might have been from this bull elk. He sheds his antlers every year and grows a new and bigger set.

The other day, I showed a photo of a bobcat kitten from a trail camera. That camera recently had a prolonged visit by a bobcat kitten and his mother. The kitten peeked at the camera from behind a boulder that I've seen cat scrapes next to in the past. This is the same spot where a mountain lion kitten paused recently.

The kitten hugged the boulder!

 And rubbed his face on it.

 Then, mom showed up, and the kitten bounded away in the background of the photo.

 Mom didn't stay for too long but she paused at the boulder.

Then she bounded off with a kitten. I'm not sure if it was a second kitten or the same one as we saw earlier. The reason why I'm confused is that I thought that the first kitten had already disappeared to the left of the camera's view a little bit earlier. Most bobcat mothers give birth multiple kittens in a litter, although, around here, they usually have only one remaining by this time of year.

Good luck mother bobcat and kitten(s)! I hope we see you again before winter snows slow us all down!