343e2 bobcat in Tennessee
I recently found this beautiful wild cat on cabin property in Tennessee, near Pigeon Forge. There has been a great deal of discussion as to what kind of cat it is. A GSM biologist identified it as a bobcat. To date, expert consensus says that is the ID, but there is still controversy.
The shots aren't of great quality as it was approaching dusk, and my camera was having its limits severely tested by the lighting conditions and distances involved in the shots.
It stood approximately 20 inches high at the shoulder, and I estimate it at about 50 pounds (using my daughter's dog of similar size as a reference). It was not at all aggressive towards me. As I approached it, camera in hand, it kept walking away from me faster and faster, looking over its shoulder to keep an eye on me, until it finally cleared a large tangle of kudzu on the ground and was able to disappear into the dense woods.
The cabin is in a densely wooded area, between Wears Valley and Pigeon Forge. The security chief there told me he had never seen a cat like this, nor heard of anyone else who had, so the cat may have been passing through the area.
Any cat experts out there want to weigh in on the debate? Some believe it to be a cougar, others a non-native exotic of some sort. I have sent the series of 3 photos to a couple of sites to try to get a definitive ID
343e2 bobcat in Tennessee
I recently found this beautiful wild cat on cabin property in Tennessee, near Pigeon Forge. There has been a great deal of discussion as to what kind of cat it is. A GSM biologist identified it as a bobcat. To date, expert consensus says that is the ID, but there is still controversy.
The shots aren't of great quality as it was approaching dusk, and my camera was having its limits severely tested by the lighting conditions and distances involved in the shots.
It stood approximately 20 inches high at the shoulder, and I estimate it at about 50 pounds (using my daughter's dog of similar size as a reference). It was not at all aggressive towards me. As I approached it, camera in hand, it kept walking away from me faster and faster, looking over its shoulder to keep an eye on me, until it finally cleared a large tangle of kudzu on the ground and was able to disappear into the dense woods.
The cabin is in a densely wooded area, between Wears Valley and Pigeon Forge. The security chief there told me he had never seen a cat like this, nor heard of anyone else who had, so the cat may have been passing through the area.
Any cat experts out there want to weigh in on the debate? Some believe it to be a cougar, others a non-native exotic of some sort. I have sent the series of 3 photos to a couple of sites to try to get a definitive ID