prairiecommunity: March 2022

This story will have a happy ending!

We were startled when we looked at our trail camera clips from December 21 to see a female bobcat, dragging a long pole, the kind used by trappers. Hindered in her hunting, she was feeding at the remains of a processed deer:

She showed up again on Christmas Day, still carrying that Lump of Coal:

But another human gave her a Christmas turkey, to try to keep her alive.

We knew such hand-outs would not keep her going for long.

The permanent solution came in the form of two dedicated, skillful individuals--Drew Ricketts, Ph.D. mammologist and KSU's Wildlife Specialist; and Al Alspach, prize-winning conservationist and a neighboring landowner.

Drew expertly set traps on paths leading to the carcass, while Al agreed to monitor them. Modern foot-hold traps use plates that spread pressure broadly so as not to damage an animal's foot. "Usually, they don't even break the skin," Drew explained.

Then we waited.

And waited.

Early one morning Al found and released a beautiful coyote.

Oddly, she refused to move when Al released her foot. Only when he started his truck did she spring into a run.

The bobcat, however, appeared to be gone for good.

For ten long days there was no sign of her--not in the traps, not at the carcass, not in any of the trail cams around our place.

We feared the worst. Indeed, Drew had told us from the beginning that our chances of success were slim. "If our traps resemble the one she was caught in, she won't go near them," he said.

But suddenly, on the very day we decided to call it quits, there she was, back again!

First she appeared in unmistakable tracks in the snow:

Note the straight drag mark the pole makes

next to the cat's tracks.

And then she showed up on a trail cam by the creek:

This time Drew was optimistic. To a new carcass he added a powerful lure, one too rare to have been used in the original trap.

On January 13, 2022, there she was, caught in the trap!

Creek Field, January 13, 2022. Al Alspach photo.

Drew and Al worked together to free her, getting the trap off her foot and the pole off her neck. Like the coyote, she refused to move until the two men left. In fact, she sat there while Drew made an educational video for Extension--a video that has been viewed over 13,000 times. Note that she adds a few comments of her own:

Dr. Drew Ricketts, Creek Field, Jan. 13, 2022.

Al Alspach video.

She stayed immobile until Drew and Al drove away--and then they saw her streaking past the truck.

That very evening she enjoyed a meal in freedom:

She came for an afternoon snack and an early breakfast:

Al noted Drew's extraordinary efforts: "I have the feeling that his job description reads that he is responsible for 'problem predators,' but predators with problems???"

Drew replied modestly, "So glad we were able to get that pole off of her."

When asked why he too was willing to spend so many hours in the cold to help a single bobcat, Al said, "Because it was the right thing to do."

In their skill and conscientiousness, Drew and Al set a positive example for all of us who are interacting with the wild.

Location: Bird Runner Wildlife Refuge, McDowell Creek, Geary Co., Kansas

Ron Young & Margy Stewart, Caretakers. Unless otherwise marked, all videos are Bird Runner trail camera clips, Margy Stewart videos.