Kingsnake

Here is an older video that I thought was lost forever when my old video camera broke but fortunately i had loaded on my computer and forgot about. This is the coastal subspecies of san luis obispo county. king snakes are common in our area and we are glad to have them, they have a broad diet that includes rattlesnakes which helps to keep balance in our ecosystem. taxonomy name is lampropeltis getula. This particular snake crawled into the hole and a mouse popped out of another exit hole.

Gray fox

I was lucky enough to get a wandering gray fox on the camera trap that i had set to target bobcat and pigs. I wish he was a little more nonchalant about the scent lure that i placed on the rock but either way I'll take it. Although i knew the gray fox were active in our area this is the first confirmation I've had of one. I've seen and got photo of the red fox multiple times but the gray fox are primarily nocturnal making them more elusive. ( see older posts red fox for photos). I'm pretty sure this is a male due to the large size.

Coyote

 So often i see coyotes and take them for granted, I've only photographed them once before and never did anything with the photos. Most people have a very low opinion of coyote because of the nuissance role they have played towards ranchers but what most people dont know is they are an extremely beneficial animal to have in the ecosystem. They help keep down the rodent population which in turn prevents fleas, ticks, and disease. Their taxonomic name is canis latrans which means barking dog in latin. I've always liked their cool nickname brushwolf. I was suprised to learn they only have a 15 square mile radius they roam. A very fast animal they can run over 40 miles per hour and leap a distance over 12 feet, and live an average of 10 years. I've been checking potential burrow sites to find a litter but no luck yet. i seen one of these guys chase down a ground squirrel and pull it out of the hole. In the fall every time the moon shines there's a pack of them that sounds off with several different kinds of vocal calls. The coyotes in our area have more of the desert colors, as opposed to the mountain variety that are darker, we seen a coyote in mammoth california in the winter time that had such a full coat and was so big and healthy that it looked more like a wolf rather than the coyotes were used to seeing. 

Bobcat

lynx rufus

 One of my favorite wild animals in our area and one that I have posted here before from my trail cameras. the taxonomy name is lynx rufus with a sub species here in california of lynx rufus californicus. these photos were taken in cambria california while this bobcat was stalking some gopher holes waiting for one to pop its head up, a traight that is also done by domestic house cats now.

 Bobcats are very stealthy often crouching down and waiting for there prey to get near and then pouncing on it, and able to jump 10 feet. I usually only see bobcats near the road when i'm driving but if i do notice them in nature they are usually displaying this behaviour.

 

 This is a resident bobcat i see occasionally in person near lake nacimiento california and somewhat commonly on my trail cameras. with a relatively small range once you find one you can usually count on seeing it again. i've read they travel 2 to 7 miles a night to hunt and live on average 6-12 years of age. I've had one jump out of a tree in front of my truck when i was driving through, and another let me follow it around for awhile just as curious about me as i was about it. This bobcat in these videos lives in an area rich with ground squirrels and cotton tail rabbits which i also get frequently on video or picture, the cat also shares this area with wild boar, coyote and fox.