Bobcat Avery and Her Kittens Continued

Last May, our yard hosted bobcat Avery and her kittens for about six weeks. Given these troubled times, I wanted to share more wildlife videos for those who might want a brief escape from the non-stop difficult news cycle (ads turned off). This new video includes footage of Avery and her kitten relaxing and playing in and around our water harvesting basin and cisterns.
Of interest, scroll to minute 10:50 where you can watch Avery burying a dove in a basin in the middle of the night. Shortly thereafter, the kittens find it and play hide and seek with the same. A little later, a coyote comes into the yard likely attracted to the odors and leaves shortly thereafter. Avery shows up the next morning none the wiser about the evenings activities only to find her dove is gone.
A special thanks to Cheryl Mollohan at BIT for helping me properly host Avery and for also archiving the full suite of videos for sharing with important stakeholders. Needless to say, we can live in harmony with these magnificent animals.

[@galesherman]

Thanks, Hans for another enjoyable wildlife adventure! Avery's kitten(s) are several weeks older than Daphne's in my neighborhood. She has them on the 3rd roof - 7 houses down from us. She or the kitten(s) are playing with a golf ball that's up there. The homeowners think it's the perfect toy for the Starr Pass area! Hope to see these kids soon too!

[@ModestMaker]

Thanks for supporting BIT and sharing your own stories at the meeting. Glad to know we have a healthy population!

[@iz11smh]

Danggg was that in your backyard!

[@ModestMaker]

Yes - she lived there with her kittens for over a month hiding out mostly behind my cistern. I gave her space and respect and she returned the favor by letting me collect hours of amazing wildlife footage. The key was to not make eye contact and back off slowly when I ran into her which was quite frequent. We got along pretty well.

[@iz11smh]

@@ModestMaker wow sounds like a once in a life time experience

[@billduy5369]

That's so cool! Thanks for sharing the footage. Did the people that put the collar on her ever get in touch to see why it showed she was living in your yard?

[@ModestMaker]

Yes - Bobcats in Tucson had collared Avery as part of an urban bobcat study and were the one's who loaned me the wildlife cameras. They provided guidance on how to make my yard a safe place for Avery and her family which paid off for everyone in the end :)

[@Aragorn450]

Great stuff! I was curious what it was she had at the 10:49 mark... A dove certainly makes sense. She had another one a bit later on it seems too. Or maybe that was a quail? I was also surprised she came back so soon after the coyote was there. From the timestamps, looked to be about an hour's difference. But I guess with a lone coyote, she's not as afraid of it.

[@ModestMaker]

I learned from Bobcats in Tucson that coyotes are predators to bobcat kittens. We were all holding our breath assuming she would leave with the kittens after discovering the smell but coyotes are all over our neighborhood though so maybe she's used to their presence (?). That was a stressful time for all of us.

[@Aragorn450]

@@ModestMaker Yeah, the kittens would be easy prey for coyotes. Good nothing happened then, that we know of anyway.