Yesterday, my son looked up from breakfast and announced, “That’s not a regular cat.”
He was correct. The creature walking across our backyard was twice as large as a “regular cat,” and also possessed much longer legs and a shorter tail. A bobcat, strolling casually across our backyard. It did a loop, pausing to check out our chicken coop (luckily, our birds were safely locked inside).
And then, a smaller bobcat – likely the kitten – appeared. What a spectacular backyard sighting.
For nature lovers, seeing charismatic mammals is always thrilling. We plan trips around seeing bears and moose and whales. It’s why wild mammals are the most frequent subject of nature documentaries, and also frequently appear on the covers of conservation magazines.
But even with mammals, most species are ignored. Many haven’t even seen the mammals in their own neighborhoods. This is because many wild mammals are cryptic. They are nocturnal, and often elusive.
Some of these elusive, wilderness-dwelling mammals roam through wildlife watchers’ dreams. Think wolverine or mountain lion. But others are almost unknown. Those are the species I focus on here. Some are incredibly difficult to spot due to restricted range or inaccessible habitat. Some may be in your local woods or fields, but you just haven’t noticed them.
8 Cool US Mammals You Haven’t Seen - Cool Green Science
He was correct. The creature walking across our backyard was twice as large as a “regular cat,” and also possessed much longer legs and a shorter tail. A bobcat, strolling casually across our backyard. It did a loop, pausing to check out our chicken coop (luckily, our birds were safely locked inside).
And then, a smaller bobcat – likely the kitten – appeared. What a spectacular backyard sighting.
For nature lovers, seeing charismatic mammals is always thrilling. We plan trips around seeing bears and moose and whales. It’s why wild mammals are the most frequent subject of nature documentaries, and also frequently appear on the covers of conservation magazines.
But even with mammals, most species are ignored. Many haven’t even seen the mammals in their own neighborhoods. This is because many wild mammals are cryptic. They are nocturnal, and often elusive.
Some of these elusive, wilderness-dwelling mammals roam through wildlife watchers’ dreams. Think wolverine or mountain lion. But others are almost unknown. Those are the species I focus on here. Some are incredibly difficult to spot due to restricted range or inaccessible habitat. Some may be in your local woods or fields, but you just haven’t noticed them.
8 Cool US Mammals You Haven’t Seen - Cool Green Science
