Big Cat Archives - Dream Catcher Images by Bruce Finocchio

Side Profile Portrait Of A Male Bobcat With An Intense Stare

IMAGE STORY:

During a fall early morning, in my blind, I caught some movement at the corner of the blind. I took a peek, and this Bobcat was staring at me. I lean back and reach for my 100—500 mm Canon Lens. Knowing he was too close for my 600 mm f4.0 telephoto lens, which I was using to capture small birds. I was slow and deliberate. I knew that quick movement would scare him off. With the camera ready, I slowly move him into view around the corner of the blind window. He was looking at me, about twenty feet away. I took a few safety shots with the corner of the blind in the frame. I waited for his next move. He walked toward the pond, and I got a couple of images of him in the vegetation before he reached the pond, with some black sage in the foreground. Then, he continued walking across in front of me, in front of the pond. For both images, I zoomed the lens open and down to 100 to 200 mm to include all of him in the frame.

Intentionally, I sit in the very back part of the blind, so my 600 mm lens doesn’t stick out of the blind window. So when I move the lens, the movement isn’t seen. Movement renders me visible, causing and activating the danger signal for the birds and the Bobcat.

During Early Morning, A Bobcat Walks Out Into The Open From Thick Brush

At the edge of the pond, he stopped and stared at me. It seemed like minutes; I zoomed in tight for a face portrait and took many shots, as usual. Then he walked away from me toward the brush line. Stopping again halfway there, looking back at me, more face portraits. Then, unconcerned, he walked toward the brush again and stopped to look down the field toward my cabin. Here, I switch to my 600 mm lens and capture the excellent side profile where you can see the transparent cornea of his eye. The dried chamise blossoms of the brush line created the beautiful purplish bokeh.

While the Bobcat was walking away, I saw it was a male. That’s why I have been referring to him.

Maybe five minutes at most. However, this is one of my most incredible wildlife encounters with a wild animal. These five minutes will live with me for the rest of my life. I am humbled and grateful to this Bobcat for allowing me to experience his wildness and spirit in a completely natural, fearless way—for accepting me into his world!

A short time ago, I observed many images of a very young bobcat taken at a game farm by a photographer friend. Observing them, they felt like a house cat playing with a feathered lure, which is what they were using, and the bobcat kitten was playing like a house cat.

As a comparison, I remarked to a client’s comment about my images, with this, “Yes, it was a spiritual experience. The way he moved and muscles worked, the looks he gave me, to be so close, to watch him be so aware. There was a particular and extraordinary wildness about him I will never forget.”

ABOUT:

The Bobcat, also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. They listed it as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2002 because of its wide distribution and large population.

A long-legged cat with large paws, a relatively short body, and tufted ears, the Bobcat is 60–100 cm (24–40 inches) long, excluding the 10–20-cm tail, stands 50–60 cm at the shoulder, and weighs 7–15 kg (15–33 pounds). Its fur, stiffer and less valuable than the lynx, is pale brown to reddish with black spots. The underparts are white; the tip of the tail is black above and white below.

Full Face Portrait Of A Bobcat Empathizing His Eyes

“Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.” ~ James Anthony Froude

“The difference between humans and wild animals is that humans pray before they commit murder.” ~ Friedrich Durrenmatt

(My Love Affair With A Londolozi Leopard)

Maxabene Resting on a Tree Limb

She was the most beautiful and spiritual animal I saw on my September 2005 South African photography trip. I was enchanted with her; it was more than just a fancy or fanciful thought. She was everything that was wild and free about the unique animals of Africa. She embodied all that is Africa. The intense look in her eyes as she surveyed the savanna was mesmerizing. I was completely under the spell she cast with her enchanting yellow-green eyes.

Female Leopard Looking Out At Her World

Before Londolozi, my photography friends were chiding me about a leopard sighting earlier on our trip in Kruger National Park. I was driving and it was very late; I missed seeing a leopard in a tree flash lighted by a parked tour bus driver. Who at almost dark was shining light into a tree with a big flashlight alongside the road for his passengers.

We had stopped, my friend in our first vehicle was leading, and she engaged the driver and he pointed out the leopard to her. However for me, driving our second car the angle for viewing was wrong; the leopard was hidden by a big branch that hung down to the road. My companion in the back seat and I searched and searched for at least twenty minutes in vain and could see nothing, no leopard.

While my friend in the first vehicle chatted away with the tour bus driver, precious time was ticking down. We needed to get to Lower Sabie camp, a camp we had yet to visit before they closed the gate. Otherwise, we would face a large fine. Already there was hardly any light left in the sky.

Maxabene Surveying The Land

Suddenly and unexpectedly, my friend driving the first vehicle took hurriedly off as her companion in the back seat, the fourth member of our group, made her aware of the ticking time. She was leading; I was following. It was almost completely dark now and I did not want to lose her. Actually, I had no idea where we were and where was Lower Sabie Camp. I was just following.

Concentrating on my driving, I drove by the “viewing window” to see the roadside leopard. Later, my companion in the back seat when asked said, yes, he did see the “leopard but only at 30 miles hour for a few brief seconds.” I was the only one of our group that missed seeing the leopard.

Afterward, in the Lower Sabie parking lot, my friends were riding me so hard for missing this leopard sighting that I actually got angry. Something I never do. They said that I might never see another leopard and I possibly blew my one and only chance of seeing this elusive cat. “You missed your one and only chance, Bruce. You might not have another opportunity to see a wild leopard, you came all this way to South Africa and mess up your only chance.” I could not believe we were fighting over this missed sighting. In my anger, I told them to go to hell.

Maxabene Hunting In The Long Dried Grasses

I need not have worried, for our visit to Londolozi, in the nearby Sabi Sands game reserve, was just days away. Where I would have the destiny to meet this beautiful and enchanting leopard called Maxabene. It was like she was waiting for me—just for me alone. We saw other Leopards too, like the Short Tailed 5:4 Male. We had more sighting of leopards than we could have hoped and dreamed for. Not only sightings but the chance to make compelling photographs of this elusive feline species. It’s where I fell in love with the lovely and mysterious female leopard called Maxabene. Our time together was brief. However, she’ll never leave my memories of my time at the place they call Londolozi—a place that truly is a “protector of all living things”.

Plus, I have these images of Maxabene that will be with me always, as a remembrance of our brief time together.