The Hare and the Bobcat

Winter is now fully in charge. I bundle up and take my snowshoes along when I go wandering about these days. Breaking through the thin icy crust over knee deep snow makes travel a bit harder for me. But snowshoe hares run easily over the surface. A hare running full tilt out over the open fields or hopping about in thickets looking for food leaves very distinctive prints. Usually, I see only a glimpse of a hare as it flees into the bush. I am lucky to have wildlife cameras that have been quite successful at capturing some of the nocturnal lives of these hares.

Other tracks in the snow show that hares are not alone in the winter night. It is no surprise to see bobcat tracks alongside those of the snowshoe hare. Bobcats are very successful predators of snowshoe hares. and when hares are numerous (as they seem to be this winter) bobcats find lots of food. I have had even fewer glimpses of bobcats than I have had of hares. The video below shows a bobcat following snowshoe hare spoor over the ice and into the darkness. A small drama whose conclusion we can only guess. I hope you enjoy the video.

all photos, videos and comments copyright J.A. Siderius