Feline Tracking - NatureOutside

Pic 1 – Ocelot

One of my three “bushcraft goals” for the summer was to learn more about mountain lions. I hike alone in cat country and am not physically imposing. I always wondered what a mountain lion would think if it saw me hiking down the trail. Unfortunately, the phrase that comes to mind is, “Polypro-wrapped cocktail wiener.”

So I took Jim Lowery’s magnificent Feline Tracking Weekend Class (www.earthskills.com). Jim is a great teacher and wrote one of my favorite tracking field guides (“The Tracker’s Field Guide: A Comprehensive Handbook for Animal Tracking in the United States”). The course consisted of two one–day parts.

Pic 2 – Jaguarundi

On the first day, we visited two wildlife facilities that had captive cats. We set up sand traps on plywood or tarps. For the cats that were in cages, we arranged the trap so that the cats would cross over the sand to get to their favorite spots. We studied both the movement of the animals and the tracks they left behind. We did this for ocelot (Pic 1), Jaguarundi (Pic 2), and cougar (Pic 3). I apologize for the poor photography.

Pic 3 – Mountain Lion

The most revealing part of day one was watching the cougar. We walked into an enormous grass-field area surrounded by a chain-link fence. Inside was a seven year old, captive born, 150 lbs, male cougar. It is startling to be that close to an animal of such power. It is not a fear reaction, and your brain continues to work normally. But it is a heightened state of awareness that I have only experienced being very close to potentially dangerous animals in the wild. Pictures do not do the animal justice.

The cat was lying by the front wheel of a large F150 pickup truck. Our approach made the cat nervous and it attempted to leap from the ground to the roof of the cab in one bound (10’). The restraints did not permit this and the cat resigned itself to resting by the front wheel. It took us more than 30 minutes to slowly and quietly approach the animal so that it became accustomed to our presence. The trainer then led it over our sand trap using various gaits and incorporating changes of direction (pic4). The most startling revelation from studying the tracks: They looked awfully familiar! I have seen more cougar tracks than I realized until that moment.

Pic 4 – Mountain Lion

Day 2 was completely different. We spent the day tracking bobcat through the mountains. One picture shows bobcat tracks marked by colored tongue depressors (Pic 5). I use dowels with surveyors tape tied at the top. I carry the dowels in the “pencil loops” of my tracker’s pack. But I like the tongue depressors better because they compress smaller for transport.

Pic 5 – Bobcat Tracks

The most interesting moment from Day 2 occurred while trailing a bobcat up a wash. The cat had leaped up the side of the wash. Before we proceeded, Jim asked “Which way did it go?” There was a large tree/bush nearby and many of the students indicated that direction. Next he asked, “Why would it want to go that way?” I suddenly realized that I viewed the tree as a “destination”. It was important to me (a human) for rational/emotional reasons (shade, cover, because it was so prominent). But to many animals it would actually be an obstacle. We need to “see” with the eyes/mind of the animal we are tracking. With this new insight, the students did a much better job predicting the animal’s future movements (verified by sign).

I greatly enjoyed the weekend and am interested in hearing others’ experiences seeing/tracking cats. Have you seen cat tracks? Have you witnessed any interesting behaviors? What cats are in your area? Any good tips for us ? Any interesting stories?