Tag Archives: Bobcat

Day Out With New Camera: Bobcat

On my second trip out with my new Sony Alpha 6500, which was intended for landscapes you may have noted from my last post, we came upon a Bobcat at the Charles Towne Landing Animal Forest.  This South Carolina State run park includes a number of animals that would have been in the area in the 1600s when the first settlers arrived. The Bobcat is in an enclosure but he had chosen a perfect spot above his fencing to give us a barrier free view.

I had been taking test shots with various focus and exposure settings with the 18-110mm lens mounted.  Of course I wished I had the longer lens on, but I did want to see how the lens would perform and didn’t want to take a chance he would leave while I was changing lenses.

Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Zoo
Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Animal Forest; Sony Alpha 6500,  Sony 18-110mm f4  at 105mm

The Bobcat was asleep in the sun when we first saw him and it turns out I had ample opportunity to adjust the camera settings, drop the lens hood then the UV filter that wasn’t tightened enough, and take some photos with the shorter lens before he opened his eyes.

Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Zoo
Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Animal Forest; Sony Alpha 6500,  Sony – 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 at 210mm

He started stretching as I switched lenses. I should have changed to a faster shutter speed at this point but was still pleased with the images.

Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Zoo
Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Animal Forest; Sony Alpha 6500,  Sony – 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 at 210mm

After a look around the Bobcat dropped out of the tree and disappeared into the undergrowth.

Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Zoo
Bobcat at Charlestowne Landing Animal Forest; Sony Alpha 6500,  Sony – 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 at 210mm

Felis rufus

Or Lynx rufus depending on where you look. Evidently there had been debate over whether to classify the Bobcat as Lynx rufus or Felis rufus. National Geographic is using Felis rufus: National Bobcat Rescue
& Research uses Lynx rufus.

All wildlife resources describe Bobcats as nocturnal so I probably should have been even more surprised to see this one just after noon today. The sun highlighted his gorgeous coat.

Normally photos of wildlife from the rear aren’t worth sharing but this one clearly shows the distinctive white patches on the ears that are part of Bobcat identification.

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I had thoughts of getting a little closer but less than 15 seconds after my first shot he disappeared into the underbrush. The red bar in the photo is the top of a gate to prevent vehicles from entering this trail.

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Full view of the header photo:

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