We have not offered classes for a while, and the demand has not slowed. Space is extremely limited, and we already have quite a few students on our roster, so if you are interested, please contact us immediately! Classes will be held from February 11 to March 31st, 10am-4pm. Tuition cost will be $350 per student.

You can contact us at kari@crosstimberswildlife.org OR getwild@crosstimberswildlife.org

Register for WREN here! http://crosstimberswildlife.org/wren_class_registration Remember, registration is on a first come, first served basis, and space is limited! Once this class has been filled, no further registrations will be accepted!

Theo has gotten big, and so has his buddy Valentine. Theo has given is some very exciting insight into his world, and taught us some really cool new things. He has also been hard at work teaching others really cool things! What a wonderful little ambassador he is turning out to be!

Most of last year’s babies are now out in the pre-release pens, playing hard, and teaching each other to be wild! Little Valentine is not releasable due to some balance issues, and will fill his role as Theo’s companion very well. We are looking forward to a wonderful new year for WCCR, and are attempting to offer our wildlife rehabilitation class in the near future. As always, if you are interested, drop me a line! I would love to hear from you! kari@crosstimberswildlife.org

What about the word raccoon? Impish, playful? Cute? The media has a lot to do with this perception. When was the last time you saw a headline that screamed “Squirrel seen in yard!” or “Raccoon seen in yard!”? Probably never. However, the minute a bobcat is seen, it is splashed all over the headlines.

Anyone who has spent time reading this blog has heard this before and really, it isn’t the point of this post. I wanted to share a video with you, sent to me from one of the people to attended our urban/rural bobcat presentation and got to meet little Theo in person for his very first live animal presentation.

She keeps a wildlife camera set up on her property, and what she saw was a bobcat coming to eat! WordPress won’t let me upload a video without an annual fee, and we are currently locked out of our youtube account! So, you will have to go to Facebook to see it. Check it out! It’s pretty cool to see a wild bobcat doing what wild bobcats do!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Wildlife-Center-at-Crosstimbers-Ranch/359268634605

NBRR has put together a fantastic presentation on rural vs. urban bobcats, and we are working on integrating an element that anchors the presentation in reality by having a live education bobcat. The Master Naturalists Group asked us to present.

Theo was very good through the whole presentation, and was a real show stopper afterwards. He really helped bring the North American Bobcat to the forefront of people’s minds. The information that Valeri presented is stuff that has never been studied before. Just like the Murphy, Tx meeting. We had some wonderful questions.

Theo kept the energy flowing through tactile and visual experiences that reinforced the information in the presentation. Our little education hopeful is well on his way to becoming a fantastic presentation animal.

Theo may be on his way to changing how we as a society handles and associated with our native wildlife. What an amazing little guy! We hope that he and our other educational hopefuls will continue to be an ambasador for his species, and help to change people’s perceptions.

It is all about public perceptions, and has precious little to do with the actual animal. Every year, a few imprinted bobcats end up at Crosstimbers. often, they are young; young enough to still have a chance at becoming wild again. Bobcats are wild animals, and they are wired to stay that way.  However, they are also social.  A wild animal hard wired to be a wild animal in a captive environment is not a good combination. The most dangerous animals we work with are the ones raised by people.

That is not to say that Peter is dangerous per se, but he has been played with in a very rough manner. He is accustomed to scratching and biting in play like a house cat…the difference is, Peter is going to be around 20+ pounds. That means we are going to have to do some major work with him. At Crosstimbers, we allow the cat to tell us when it is ready to be wild again. Some day, Peter may surprise us, and show us that he is ready. We shall see

I have tried to buy multiple properties to house us, and so far have been unsuccessful in that venture as well. It seems like every offer we make falls through for one reason or another. I fear that we may not be able to hold on much longer. The economy is still slumping, and donors have become exceedingly scarce. Running the largest wildlife center in the region out of our own pockets, and with a completely volunteer staff is nearly impossible. We have been watching other wildlife organizations close their doors left and right this season, and we are trying not to follow suit. Our cries for help and support have fallen on deaf ears, and we are at the mercy of time. Time is not on our side anymore.

The animal we have chosen to continue accepting is the North American Bobcat. We are one of a very small handful of supporters available for this amazing predator, and if we close our doors, they lose a significant player in their protection and advocacy. Not only will they suffer, but our education program will be brought to it’s knees. I have been saying for months that we are struggling, and always by some small miracle, we are able to hang on a while longer, but we cannot keep this up. I need more time. I am sure I can find the right property, but I need time. And time costs money. Lots of it. Lots of money that we do not have.

We have had some amazing successes this year, breaking our record in the numbers of babies we work with, pulling little Theo back from the brink over and over again, and some really great release stories. Do you remember the two siblings trapped by cock fighters? Tormented and traumatized, until they were awarded to us? They tasted freedom again; they were delivered from the evils of people through the compassion of better people. Wonderful people. People just like you who made their freedom possible again. The release of these lucky souls can be seen through the link on the upper right hand corner of your screen. It is entitled “Crosstimbers Bobcat Release”.

All of these stories exist because this organization exists. But we cannot keep existing without a little help. Rehabbing a baby bobcat costs an average of $2,000 or more. Right now, we have more than 20 in our release program alone. That is not including the non-release program cats. WCCR wants to continue saving and protecting these wonderful cats, but we need your help. As little as $20 makes a huge impact for a 501(c)3 like ours.

I know people hate being asked for money, but my mother always told me that all you can do is ask. And so, I am asking. I have been trying to raise $5,000 for Crosstimbers, and so far have been pitifully unsuccessful. So, my dear readers, I am asking. Can you contribute $20 dollars to my cause? I want nothing more in the world than to see Crosstimbers spread it’s wings. I believe in this organization, it’s goals, and it’s values. The only way to ensure the success of our planet is through supporting organizations that put environment, conservation, biodiversity, and education at the forefront of every aspect of their organization. If you can find it in your heart and your wallet to part with $20 dollars, it would mean the world to one of the most amazing grassroots organizations in Texas.

http://www.causes.com/causes/577450-the-wildlife-center-at-crosstimbers-ranch

The difference is, WCCR sees 60-70 bobcats annually. Many of them come in very young, often their eyes are not even opened. They also come in as litters, singles, and older cubs as well as adults. It gives us a wonderful perspective and insight into their personalities, habits, and social structures.  The best way to learn more about a species is to observe large numbers of individuals of the species. WCCR is using our unique position as an opportunity to do exactly that.

One of the things we are supremely interested in is the social structure of bobcats. So far, we have found that rural bobcats act extremely different from urban bobcats. Not only this, but that these cats express far different behavior than one might expect. For example, Pixie and Quincey. Both of these cats are hopefuls for an education program. Pixie, a young female kit and Quincey a nearly two year old male entering into sexual maturity.

I caught Pix and Quinc in one of their regular grooming sessions. Pixie and Quincey spend their time cuddling and playing. Quincey mothers and loves on Pixie as if he was her daddy. He grooms her, removes fleas, and makes sure she is squeaky clean.

You can’t tell from this series of pictures, but Pixie is currently about half Quincey’s size. One might expect a young male coming into sexual maturity to be unkind or even aggressive to a young kit like Pixie, but years of observing and recording activities just like this one has shown the staff here at WCCR that this just isn’t the case. There is still so much that we do not know about these amazing and elusive animals. Who would have guessed that an adult male would be so nurturing with a cub that isn’t even his? The bobcat is not an aggressive animal, and certainly not one to be vilified or feared.

Durring this photo session, Pixie actually laid her head down, and closed her eyes. You can see the bond these two share just from these pictures. These guys are so emotional, and form such strong bonds with one another, and with us. It is pretty incredible that an animal considered fairly solitary by most common knowledge is so emotionally connected to other members of its species.

These cats fill a wonderful nitch in our urban and rural ecosystems, controlling populations of pest animals like rats, mice, and snakes. Yes, they will go after a cute bunny or a squirrel or quail, but rarely will they ever go after anything larger than that. When they do go after larger prey, it is out of desperation. Usually caused by being relocated, and therefore starvation due to lack of familiarity with the area. Bobcats stay within their home range their entire lives, and so relocating them causes them to struggle until they can become familiar with their new surroundings. Of course, there are other factors that would come into play in these and other scenarios.

The point is, there is little protection for an animal that we know incredibly little about. When is it time to take action? When humanity creates a rarity out of such a wide-spread animal that we do not know if we can bring it back from the brink? How are we to learn more about this animal if we don’t protect them?

Answer: The chances of a 30lb (an exceedingly large individual for this area) bobcat killing a 40-70lb dog are extremely unlikely. Not only will most large dogs out-weigh (and therefore out muscle) a bobcat by a significant amount, but this sort of behavior is just not in the nature of a bobcat. Think of a house cat. Have you ever heard of or seen a house cat attack (not in play) or kill something say the size of a raccoon or a cocker spaniel? Bobcats are still felines, and still extremely unlikely to attack or kill anything larger than a quail, a rabbit, a snake, rats, mice, or squirrels (one of their favorite foods).

Question: Will a bobcat eat my small dog?

Answer: Chances are, no. Unless the animal is starving or lost, or some other extreme situation, they are going to leave all of your family pets alone. That still does not mean your pets should have free rein outside. If you are seeing bobcats, there is also plenty of other wildlife in the area. One of the biggest culprits for small pets disappearing is actually owls and hawks. You should always practice responsible pet ownership. We have bred our small companion dogs to be just that. Companions. This also means they depend on us for food, water, shelter, and protection. This means that if they are outside, we should be outside with them.

Question: Will bobcats attack my children?

Answer: No! Bobcats are common in most of our urban environments. Chances are, you have them in your neighborhood. If bobcats were attacking small children (or any other humans), that would definitely make the news! The reality is that bobcats have grown up all around us. Just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there, and just because you have seen one is no cause for alarm.

“I heard that a bobcat chased and killed a deer”. I have heard this as well, and even seen a photo supposedly of a bobcat tackling a deer. The photo I saw was that of a cougar, not a bobcat. While a bobcat may have the ability to take down a small fawn, they generally will not expend that kind of energy. The only bobcats brave enough to tackle prey of that size are those that are starving and can not find anything else. Remember: The largest prey a bobcat generally handles is no bigger than a cottontail rabbit.

Bobcats are non-agressive, curious, intelligent, and elusive. We are working hard to help dispel some of these and other misconceptions and misinformation about this species. We always welcome questions, and will do our best to provide answers. Have a question? Leave me a comment or shoot me an email!

It was a great meeting. Valeri gave a great informative presentation on bobcats, and the attendees were really interested, and asked some really great questions!

We got some really great information out there tonight! Thank you for all of the wonderful people who attended, and all the really great questions about one of our favorite animals! The more we can change the incorrect perceptions about the North American Bobcat and other similar species, the more positive change we can make in our world!

I feel very positive about this meeting, and I am so glad that the City of Murphy hosted this really wonderful discussion. Thank you, City of Murphy! Keep up the great work! The only way to change how bobcats (and any other wildlife) are handled is to inform people, citizens and law enforcement alike, about the options out there. Not only that, but to arm people with accurate information on this animal’s behavior, habitat, and activities, and the importance of acceptance of not only prey animals, but predators as well to maintain a natural balance, even in our urban environments. Removing wildlife from it’s natural habitat is not the solution.

The only way we are going to be able to do this is to continue to dispel fears associated with predators through discussions like this one. No, a 30lb bobcat is not going to carry away your small child, no, a bobcat does not randomly attack small pets, and no, they are not aggressive animals that attack without reason.

I feel one small step closer to the general public accepting that not only is removing and relocating an animal just because you saw it in your yard a bad idea, but that in fact, it may be beneficial to allow the animal to remain in its home.

To all the wonderful citizens and city officials who attended this meeting, I thank you, and hope that the information presented here was informative and helpful to increase understanding of our urban (and rural) wildlife.

We will see how it goes. The City of Murphy has expressed that they now realize that the situation could have been handled far differently. I completely agree. I hope that as an organization, we may be able to take this opportunity to not only educate the public on the true nature of bobcats, but also to educate city officials on wildlife in general, and more appropriate channels in which to handle said wildlife. Wish us luck on this endeavor. More on the subject later.